Stuff of Legend
by Kal-El
Summary: Well, after a bit of a hiatus this summer (not entirely my fault), here is chapter 13. Enjoy.
1. Beginnings...

General Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of these characters. They are all either propert of DC Comics, Warner Brothers, or another subsidiary of AOL- Time Warner Inc.  
  
Author's Note: This is a story set in the future, post-smallville. All our fav smallvillians/ains have either left town or settled down. Clark has just moved to Metropolis to take his job at the Planet, only in this timeline, Chloe is going to be working there too. Lex is still working under his father, only he was recalled to Metropolis to shoulder a larger portion of the burden after his father had an unfortunate accident. Lionel has married Lana's Aunt Nell, and she and Lana both live in Metropolis. Lana is just beginning her final year at Metropolis University, after taking several years off to travel. Pete is also in Metropolis, about to begin a job as a Lawyer at LuthorCorp, working under Lex. We'll begin with the newsroom of the Daily Planet, Clark is just getting ready step off the elevator…  
  
"Whoa! Watch it, Buddy!" Clark barely managed to avoid running into someone he could only guess was a copy-runner.  
  
"I'll try to remember that." He straightened his glasses and leaned over to pick up his briefcase. "What's your name, anyway, Kid?"  
  
"It's James, but everyone just calls me Jimmy, Jimmy Olson." He stopped, and Clark was finally able to see the camera around the young man's neck.  
  
"It's good meeting you, Jimmy. I'm Clark Kent, one of the new investigative reporters."  
  
"Well, it's nice to meet you, but I've gotta run." With that, Jimmy rounded the corner and was gone. Clark quietly laughed to himself.  
  
"Kent!" Clark quickly recognized the burly voice of his Editor-in- Chief, Perry White and quickly made his way to his office.  
  
"Yeah, Perry." Clark straightened his tie and set his briefcase down in the doorway, not noticing the dark-haired woman sitting in the chair just inside the door.  
  
"Clark, I want you to meet my star reporter, Lois Lane." Clark turned to face her.  
  
"Actually, we've already met, though I doubt you remember." He could see a look of confusion on her face. "It was three years ago, a Journalism convention in Gotham City. Bruce Wayne introduced us."  
  
"Oh my, you're right!" Lois stood up and held out her hand to Clark. Just as he did, Chloe comes charging into the office.  
  
"Trying to start without me, guys?" She shot Perry a look, which he quickly returned and she backed down a bit.  
  
"Yes, Lois Lane, this is Chloe Sullivan, our other, new investigative reporter. She and Clark went to High School together, isn't that right?" Perry placed his hands on his desk, not eager to allow Chloe any room to maneuver with him.  
  
"Yes, both proud graduates of Smallville High School." Chloe reached out and took Lois's hand. She turned to see Clark smiling at her; she smiled back.  
  
"Well, now that we have the introductions done with, maybe we could move onto the business side of things. Lois, do you have anything for me?" Perry rolled up his sleeves and sat back down behind his desk, pencil in hand.  
  
"Actually, Perry, I've been hearing some rumblings of abductions in Suicide Slum, and was thinking there might be something to that worth investigating." Lois reached into her briefcase to pull out her notepad. "Oh, and there's also rumors going around that he Mayor has been taking money under the table from some…shall we say, unsavory elements."  
  
Clark just sat, listening to Lois, glancing from her to Perry, to Chloe. He could tell that Perry was riveted by that last suggestion from Lois, but it seemed that Chloe was more intrigued by the first. That was something about her, she was always eager to take the stories that didn't look like they would amount to much. Suddenly, Perry's voice caused him to refocus.  
  
"What about you Clark? Got anything for us?"  
  
"Well, Perry, I've only been in town a couple days, but I do have an invite to the LuthorCorp Charity Ball on Wednesday. I think the mayor is going to be there, and there should also be some of these…unsavory characters, as Lois put it. I could check it out, see if there might be something going on with them. Maybe even get a chance to talk to the Mayor." Clark could see that his comments took the wind out of Lois's sails. She really wanted that story, and Clark had pretty much stolen it right out from under here. "Also, some friends of mine in the Bio-tech industry are hearing rumblings of a secret government project going on here in Metropolis, something to do with Cloning."  
  
"That's what I'm hearing too, Chief." Chloe finally piped in. "The codename of the project is Cadmus, like the bio-tech firm that was purchased by Hardwick Industries a few years ago before it was swallowed by LuthorCorp. Apparently the Luthors sold the interests in the company and its patents to the government for a hefty some about a year later."  
  
"You'd think they would go through the trouble of at least renaming the damn thing." Lois had a look of disbelief on her face.  
  
"Also, Chief, I'd be totally willing to investigate those disappearances in Suicide Slum." Chloe volunteered herself for what seemed like the more boring of the three suggestions so far.  
  
"Sounds good to me, Lois?" Perry turned back to his veteran reporter.  
  
"I guess that leaves me the Cadmus story, then." She shifted in her seat before giving Chloe a look. She didn't seem to notice, so Lois just looked away. Good. In the mean time, Clark, I want you to cover the LuthorCorp benefit anyway, since you're going to be there, and you all need to have a piece on my desk by tomorrow morning. Get your assignments from Jane. She'll have the latest Flashes." Perry leaned back in his chair and the rest of the got up to leave the room.  
  
The three of them shared a set of desks, each with a computer and full compliment of writing paraphernalia. Clark could tell that Chloe was completely in her element. She loved this so much more than he did. He'd rather be at home, curled up with a good book, or writing one of his own. As he sat down and turned his computer on, he got an idea.  
  
"Hey, Chloe." He spun around in his chair to look at his best friend. "You want to go the benefit with me? I could use your help with the mayor."  
  
"Sure, Clark." Chloe turned was busy putting stuff in the drawers of her desk. Clark turned to look at Lois, a look a disappointment spread across her face. He decided to ignore it and turned his attention back to Chloe.  
  
"Besides, it will give us a chance to talk to Lex." Clark noticed a clanking sound and turned to see Lois's pencils on the floor. "Something wrong, Lois?"  
  
Lois quickly tried to compose herself again. "You know Lex Luthor?"  
  
Clark tried disparately to suppress a smile, glancing over at Chloe he noticed her doing the same thing, but she spoke first. "They're pretty much best friends."  
  
Clark just sat there, perfectly content to let Chloe do the explaining, and clearly enjoying the look of pure envy that was spreading across Lois's face.  
  
"So that's how you got the invite to the benefit." Lois seemed to lighten up a little bit. "It must be handy, having friends in high places like that."  
  
"It has its benefits." Clark just smiled and started checking his e- mail. There was one from Pete, one from his mother, and another from Lex,.  
  
"Think you could introduce me some time?" Lois now seemed focused on Clark. "I've been trying to get an interview with him ever since he came back to Metropolis to take over a larger part of the business after his father's accident. But, he's denied all of my requests."  
  
"Not really surprising. Lex doesn't really trust very many people." Clark smiled. "But, I'll see what I can do."  
  
"I don't know about you two, but I've got to get to work. I want to get my article in to Perry by the end of the day today, so that I can spend some more time investigating tomorrow morning." Chloe was now huddled over her computer, rapidly typing away.  
  
Clark and Lois both nodded their heads at Chloe and began working on their own work. About two hours later, Clark managed to pull himself away from his search on the net and the email from his mother. "I'm going to go grab a bite, either of you want to come?"  
  
"Sure, I'll go." Lois stopped typing and reached for her purse.  
  
"Not right now, though thanks for the offer." Chloe never even looked away from the computer, not that Clark was surprised. She was always so involved in her work. That was one of the things he loved about her.  
  
Lois and Clark left Chloe to her work and made their way out of the Planet Building and headed across the street to a deli/coffeehouse, Clark catching Lois glancing up at the LuthorCorp Tower looming in the eastern skyline.  
  
"You got a thing for LuthorCorp, Lois?" his voice starteled her as they drew into the stood just outside the deli door.  
  
"Not really, I just think there's a lot more to the Luthors than meets the eye."  
  
"Not that much more, at least not with Lex, anyway. Lionel maybe, but Lex is one of the good guys." Clark opened the door for her and they went in. After they got their food, they took a seat in a window boot, a view of all the passing cars and the globe over the entrance to the Daily Planet.  
  
"How did you and Lex become best friends, Clark?" Lois asked in between bites of her turkey sandwich.  
  
"That's actually an interesting story. You see, I saved his life about eight years ago." Lois dropped her sandwich onto her plate.  
  
"You saved his life!" That wasn't quite what she had been expecting.  
  
"Yeah, his car went off a bridge just outside of Smallville, and luckily I was there and able to dive in and pull him out." He paused to assess the look on Lois's face then continued. "We've pretty much been close ever since. Not to mention that I dated his step-sister in high school."  
  
Lois just sat, transfixed on the man in front of her. When she had first heard about Perry hiring him, she was skeptical. What could a country boy from Smallville know about Journalism, so what if he had a Masters in English and Psychology from Metropolis University. Now, however, she realized that there was a lot more to Clark Kent than meets the eye.  
  
They both quickly finished their food, choosing to basically just make small talk now that Lois had satisfied her curiosity about how Clark knew Lex. When they finished, they left and headed back across the street.  
  
"Clark, I need to go grab something from my car, I'll be back up in a second." Lois made here way towards the parking Garage next to the building.  
  
"Ok, I'll let Perry know you're on your way back." He turned back into the building and started for the elevators. That was when he heard her scream.  
  
"Why don't you shut up, Miss Lane!" The man that had grabbed her was dragging her, kicking and screaming through the strangely empty parking garage. "No one's going to help you; you're going to find out what happens when you go poking around in places you shouldn't."  
  
Clark rounded the corner and scanned the area with his x-ray vision. He looked up and saw Lois being dragged by someone. He raced up to the next level, and came to a stop behind her assailant. "And just what do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Who the hell?" The man swung around, but it was too late. Clark knocked his gun from his hand and laid the man out with a right hook. He leaned down to check on Lois, she'd fallen face down when the man turned around.  
  
"Clark!" Lois threw her arms around him and pulled herself up by his neck. "How'd you get here so fast?"  
  
Clark didn't know what to say. He couldn't exactly tell her that he'd heard her scream and then raced over with his super speed. Then he saw her purse, and looked inside it. He went to pick it up, and in the process removed her keys. "You dropped these, and I figured you'd need them to get into your car."  
  
"I'm so glad that you did." She wrapped her arms around him again.  
  
"Why don't we give the police a call, have them come pick this guy up?" He sat her down on one of the cement dividers. "Any idea who he is?"  
  
"No idea, all he said was that I was going to learn not to stick my nose in where it doesn't belong. I'm an investigative reporter, Clark, I stick my nose into a lot of places."  
  
Clark couldn't help but laugh. Lois punched him in the arm. "I'm sorry. It really isn't funny."  
  
While he said this, Lois was calling the police. In five minutes, they were putting her assailant into the back of their car. One of the detectives was questioning Lois, and Clark was waiting with Chloe and Perry. Chloe and Clark were talking to each other.  
  
"Well, Clark Kent saves the day again." Chloe smiled, winking at Clark. "Boy, you're a good person to have as a friend, but really, you need to stop getting to know people this way."  
  
"Thanks a lot. I'm just glad she is ok." He smiled and reached out to Chloe's hand. "I was reminded of that time you fell out of Lex's window."  
  
"Don't remind me." Chloe tightened up. "I still have nightmares about that."  
  
"I really hat to apologize again, Chloe. I still feel terrible about that." They both turned back to see the source of the voice they both knew so well.  
  
"Lex." Clark reached his hand out to his friend. "What brings you down from the marble tower to mingle with mere mortals."  
  
"Funny, Clark." Lex laughed as he and Clark shook hands. "I just heard about what happened and had to come see for myself. I guess we can count Miss Lane as one of the people who is glad you're around."  
  
"Yeah, Lex. We should start a club or something." Chloe smiled as she went over to hug Lex. "I can just see it. All of us wearing shirts that say: Saved by Clark Kent."  
  
Clark buried his head in his hands. "Guys, please."  
  
Chloe and Lex both laughed. "Don't worry, Clark. We'll need to get a few more members before we could make money off the deal, right Lex?"  
  
"I think you're right. Clark, do you think you'll make it to my benefit on Wednesday? There's going to be someone there who wants to see you."  
  
Clark's piqued at what Lex said. "Who?"  
  
"I'm not supposed to tell. You'll just have to wait." Lex turned to leave. "Glad to see you're ok, Clark. I'll see you Wednesday; you too, Chloe?"  
  
"Wouldn't miss it." Chloe turned to face Clark as Lex rounded the corner. "That was weird. Haven't seen him outside of the office or his apartment in quite a while."  
  
"Yeah, he's been really buried in his work lately. I wonder who he could have been talking about." Clark was slightly bewildered by what his friend had said.  
  
"No idea." Chloe put her arm around Clark and they began to walk back to the newsroom. 


	2. Discovering Relationships...

Authors Note: In case anyone is confused, and didn't really read my last author's note, I'm just going to remind you that this is a bit of an Alternate Universe for Superman, building on Smallville characters and storylines. Chloe works with Clark and Lois at the Planet, Lex is still mostly good, though beginning to really lean bad. Nell married Lionel, and Pete is a Lawyer at Luthorcorp. Well, now back to the story…  
  
As lex returned to his office, he found the door slightly ajar, and upon entering, he discovered someone sitting at his desk facing out toward the city. "And who are you?"  
  
The chair spun around. "Its me, your little sister."  
  
"Lana, you're home." Lex made his way over to Lana, and the two embraced. Lex wasn't at all pleased about his dad marrying Nell, when it first happened, but when he realized that he was getting a little sister out of the deal, things greatly improved. "When did you get in?"  
  
"Landed a couple hours ago, ran my stuff by the Penthouse and made my way over here to see you." She sat back down in his chair and reclined back.  
  
Lex looked at her with an annoyed look. "You're barely back two hours and you're already taking my seat."  
  
Lana started pushing the chair back as Lex got closer and closer to her. "Oh, no you don't, Lex."  
  
Lex managed to catch her before she could get away, beginning to tickle her mercilessly. She quickly cried uncle, and they stood up again. Just as his secretary came in the door.  
  
"Mr. Luthor, Mr. Wayne is on the phone, for you. He says its urgent." She looked down and saw Lana on the floor. "Welcome back, Miss Lang."  
  
"Thanks, Marilyn." Lana smiled as she pulled herself up from the floor.  
  
"I'll take the call in here, thank you."  
  
With that, Marilyn took her leave of the office and returned to her post outside Lex's door. Lana managed to pull herself up onto one of the couches in the far corner of Lex's office. She studied her brother as he picked up the phone and began talking to Bruce. She'd only met the man a couple of times, but he seemed really nice, moody but nice. She noticed a few things different about Lex as she watched him discuss something about the upcoming benefit. He seemed to look a bit older, a bit more distinguished. Maybe it was just the office, or maybe she was just used to seeing him in Smallville, that the aura of Metropolis simply made him seem more grandiose than normal.  
  
Lana could remember how upset she had been when Nell had told her she was going to be marrying Lionell. It had come as a shock for not only her, but Lex and the rest of Smallville as well. She remembered how weird it would be for her and Lex to be brother and sister, but they'd both quickly warmed to the idea. Besides, she had been dating his best friend at the time. The sudden thought of Clark made Lana sigh.  
  
"Lana, you with me?" Lex's voice snapped Lana out of the trance she had fallen into. "That was Bruce, he wanted to let me know that he might not make it to the benefit on Wednesday, but to let me know that someone from Wayne Enterprises will be here to present their matching donation for the fund."  
  
"That's great, Lex. Not that Bruce can't make it, but that he's going to match the donation made by you and your father." Lana stood up and walked over to the window to look out at the city below. It still took her some getting used to, realizing she was part of one of the most powerful families on the planet. "Have you seen Clark recently?"  
  
Lex had wondered how long it would take her to ask that question. "Actually, I just got back from seeing him. He's working at the Daily Planet."  
  
"You took off in the middle of the day to go see Clark?" Lana couldn't believe that Lex would skip out on work just to go see a friend.  
  
"Actually, no. It seems that our dear friend Clark rescued one of his co-workers, Lois Lane, from the clutches of a kidnapper. I went to see if everything was alright." Lex sat down in his chair and turned to look out the window with her.  
  
"Is he ok?" Lana couldn't even believe she asked the question, knowing what she knew about Clark. But, she figured, it was best to act for Lex; she knew that it was best for him not to learn the truth.  
  
"Yeah, he is fine. He's going to be at the benefit on Wednesday, Chloe too. They're both working at the Planet now." Lex saw Lana's shoulders slump when he mentioned Chloe. Then, he remembered what had happened. Lana and Clark had been together for nearly three years, when they graduated from high school. Unfortunately, that also signaled the end of their relationship. By the time they left for their respective schools, Metropolis for Clark and Duke for Lana, they had decided not to try the long distance thing. When they both came home that first summer, Lana had been shocked to find out that Clark and Chloe had gotten together. That had devastated her, and Lex knew it. He got up to go comfort her.  
  
"You know, I don't know if they're still together or not. I couldn't tell from seeing them together earlier. Even if they are, I know they're not married. Until then, you still have a chance." He put his arm around her and gave her a hug. "I'm not going to let you give up on him until then, because I worked to hard to bring you two together the first time."  
  
Lana turned to face Lex and smiled. She really loved having a big brother to turn to when things got tough. "Enough about me, how are things going for you in the love department?"  
  
"Funny you should ask that." Lex suddenly felt uncomfortable and returned to his seat. "I haven't really had time for any type of relationship lately. My father hasn't been getting any better, and I've had to shoulder a lot more of the burden around here."  
  
"Nell told me about your dad the other day." Lana knew that Lex could really care less about how Lionell was doing. They didn't get along at all, and she could almost see the hate in his eyes when he looked at his father. She decided to change the subject. "She also told me that Pete is coming to work for you."  
  
Lex smiled, thankful that Lana had quit talking about his dad. "Yeah, I think it will be good having him around. I know that we didn't get along that well back in Smallville, but I think this will be a real chance for us to work together and become a bit more friendly."  
  
"You're probably right." Lana returned Lex's smile and turned back in to face him. "I should get going, leave you to your work."  
  
"Yeah, you're probably right." Lex turned back to the papers on his desk as Lana retrieved here purse and jacket from the couch. "I'll see you at home later?"  
  
"You bet. Have I got some stories for you." She smiled a devilish grin and Lex returned it.  
  
"So I take it you had fun in Italy." Lana had been on a trek around Europe for the past six months. Before that, it was East Asia and Australia. She was really taking advantage of being a Luthor.  
  
"Great, but we'll talk about it later. We'll have dinner and then we can catch up about everything, even what's been going on with Clark lately." With that, she was out the door and Lex settled back into his work. He was glad she was back.  
  
  
  
Chloe was fiddling with her keys, trying to unlock the key to her apartment. She had a bag of groceries in one hand, and was holding the other up with her knee. It wasn't working. Finally, she gave up and set the bags down on the floor—cursing herself for not thinking of it sooner. As she entered her apartment she turned on the light and set her things down in the kitchen. Next, she made her way to the bedroom to change out of her work clothes and into something a tad more comfortable. What she found when she flipped on that light, was a bit of a surprise.  
  
"Clark!" Chloe's mouth nearly dropped to the floor when she saw Clark sprawled out on her bed. "How did you get in here? I don't remember giving you a key, and I made sure the door was locked."  
  
"Clark smiled at her and laughed a little bit. "You didn't shut the window all the way, though."  
  
"Yeah, but it's twenty stories up…" Chloe stopped herself when she realized her mistake. "But that is plenty, for a man who can fly."  
  
"There you go." He stood up and made his way over to her, sweeping her into his arms. "I missed you today, having to keep you at arms lenth at work. I still can't believe that you don't want them to know about us yet." I think it would just create weirdness at work. Besides, you saw how uncomfortable Lois got when Perry told her that we'd gone to school together."  
  
"I guess you are right." He laid her out on the bed, beginning to kiss her neck softly, nibbling on her ear. "But, now that we're alone…"  
  
Clark never finished his sentence, he simply began kissing her passionately, wrapping his arms around her, allowing her to remove his shirt. He did the same to her, unbuttoning her blouse. The carefully rolled over, and Chloe unzipped her skirt, and quickly undid the belt on Clark's pants. He pulled her into him, kissing her strongly, again, feeling her body melt into his. This was the best part of his life, being with Chloe. He didn't know if he'd ever get over Lana when they broke up just before starting college. But that was before he and Chloe realized that they had feelings for each other. It had been during the third week of classes their first semester at Metropolis U. They were studying for a test together, when Clark had reached over to grab something, lightly brushing against Chloe's breast. A gasp of air had escaped her lips, and when he pulled back he stopped his face inches from hers.  
  
They kissed, and they kissed. Getting lost in each other. That was the first night they ever made love, in fact, it was the first night they had really kissed. Soon, Clark was forced to focus on the present, as Chloe lowered herself on to him and began to grind into him. They both became lost in each other, giving into total passion. After what seemed like a couple hours, she collapsed on top of him and they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. Clark smiled and though about how perfect his life was. Could it get any better than this?  
  
*Well, that's it again for now. I'm not sure when I'll get the next one up, but it should be by the end of the weekend. I've cranked out both of these chapters during the last twenty-four hours. It can be done :)* 


	3. First Day of the Rest of Your Life...

Author's Note: Here's the third installment of what is looking to be a long one. Hope you all have figured out by now, that Lex and Lana are family now, and that Chloe and Clark are together. Well, that's where we'll start this chapter…  
  
Clark Kent sat quietly behind his desk in the newsroom of the Daily Planet, sipping coffee and staring at the e-mail his mother had sent him. She'd read about his heroism in the paper and wanted to make sure everything was ok. She knew he was invulnerable, but she was still his mom, so she worried. He'd thought about giving her a call this morning before work, but he'd woken up late and had to hurry because Chloe forgot to reset the alarm before heading off to do research for her story.  
  
"Good morning, Clark." Lois slid into her seat across from him. "How's my hero doing this morning?"  
  
Clark noticed the smile on Lois's face and returned it. "I'm doing ok, how are you?"  
  
"I'm staying busy."  
  
"Did you see the police reports from last night?" He tossed her a stack of papers.  
  
"Not yet. I've been a little off my game this morning. I'm usually here before Perry." She sat down and scanned the first page.  
  
"It seems like there are some gangs out there with new weapons." He reached into his desk and pulled out a file with pictures. "These are pictures of a prototype weapon stolen from a military warehouse."  
  
"What's so special about these weapons? They look just like normal guns." Clark was glad that she seemed to be very interested in the case.  
  
"Well, they basically are normal guns, only they fire a special type of bullet. They have explosive tips and can track their targets." He got up from his desk and went around to stand behind Lois. "The gun itself contains high resolution sensors and advanced micro-circuitry, so do the bullets. They lock onto the target and then transfer the identification information to the bullets before it is fired."  
  
"Any idea which gangs have them, or who stole them in the first place?" Lois seemed engrossed in the case, and Clark was glad that she seemed to have forgotten about her ordeal yesterday.  
  
"That was where I was hoping you could help me out. There's not much out there but the basics, and I only managed to get these specs and pictures from a friend of mine that works for STAR Labs." He sat down on the edge of her desk. "I was hoping you could get in touch with some of your contacts in the Metropolis PD and find out some more. This could be a huge story."  
  
"Thanks, Clark. I think I'll do that. There are a couple people I can call, maybe I'll come up with something. You want to write this one together?" Clark could see a fire in her eyes.  
  
"No, why don't you take this one. I feel kind of bad about the whole mayor thing, and I'm going to be pretty busy with that." She smiled at him and he smiled back. "I want us to be friends Lois. I don't want us to be competing all the time."  
  
"Clark, you saved me yesterday, we're going to be friends no matter what stories you steal from me." That last bit was touched with a hint of sarcasm. Clark picked up on it and shot her a look.  
  
"I'm going to hold you to that." He stood up, going back over to his desk. Just then, his phone rang. "Hello?"  
  
"Hello, Clark." Martha Kent's voice greeted her son. "How's work?"  
  
"Mom, things are going really well. I'm just getting to know one of my coworkers a bit better." Lois shot him a grin and mouthed the words 'momma's boy' at Clark. He picked up one of the stuffed animals Lois kept on her desk and tossed it at her.  
  
"Well, why don't you and Chloe come over for dinner tonight, there's something that your father and I want to show you?" Clark could tell by the tone in her voice, that the last bit had something to do with his secret. Her voice always got like that when she talked about it.  
  
"Sure thing, Mom. We'll be by at 7:30." He turned to look at Lois, finding her deeply engrossed in the file he'd given to her. "See you tonight, love you."  
  
"Love you too, Son."  
  
Clark hung up the phone and gathered his coat and briefcase. As he made his way to the elevator, he thought about where he'd start looking for Chloe. He really needed to talk to her and find out if she had any idea what his mother wanted to show him.  
  
"Good morning, Sleepyhead." Lex greeted Lana as she seated herself at the table for breakfast. It was just a little after 8:00 a.m. but he'd been up since 4:00 a.m.  
  
"Sleepyhead?" Lana questioned. "Now I remember why I liked Europe so much. People there know how to sleep."  
  
"Remember, the Early Bird catches the worm. Or in this case, the rival European Bio-Tech firm." He tossed her the Wall-Street Journal. On the front page, was Lex's picture. The caption read: Multinational American Conglomerate, LuthorCorp, acquires GenSuisse in Hostile Takeover.  
  
"You've been up since 4:00 a.m. just to buy this company?" Lana still didn't understand Lex's extreme dedication to business.  
  
"Well, if I hadn't, then Bruce Wayne would have. We may be friends outside the office, but during the business day, whether it's here or Geneva, we're rivals."  
  
"Ahh…" Lana pretended to understand what Lex was saying, if for nothing else than to change the subject. "So, I guess I must have fallen asleep before you got home last night. I'm sorry."  
  
"That's fine. I didn't get back until well after midnight. I was on a conference call with some of our Japanese subsidiaries. They're looking at the possibility of strikes at one of our microprocessor manufacturing plants in Tokyo." It was once again, more information that Lana cared to have.  
  
"I wanted to ask you yesterday, how's your love life been lately?" She watched as Lex put his newspaper down and looked up from his breakfast.  
  
"Well, actually, I've been a little too busy at the office lately to have any sort of love life. Until a few months ago, I'd been seeing someone, but it ended when Dad took a turn for the worse and I had to begin spending nearly every waking moment at the office."  
  
Lana sighed and looked straight at Lex. "You're working too hard, Lex. You need to give yourself a chance to live. If you don't, you're only going to end up like Lionell." She watched his face for a response. She got the one she'd expected. He hated being compared to his father.  
  
"I'm not anything like him, and I never will be." His voice was cold but then softened. "But, I do think you're right. I need to get out more, start having a social life. Maybe we can start at the party tomorrow night."  
  
Lana's eyes got big, and she slightly tipped her head to the side. "We?"  
  
"Yes, we. If I'm going to help you try and get Clark back, then you're going to help me with my terrible social life." A smile spread across his face. "Besides, it's not like you have anything better to do."  
  
Lana picked up her napkin and threw it at him across the table. He ducked, the napkin hitting the window behind him and falling harmlessly to the floor. His smile grew bigger, and Lana began to laugh. She sure had missed this, she'd missed having family.  
  
"I was thinking of inviting the young woman Clark saved yesterday. She's a reporter who's been trying to get an interview with me for a while. I might have said yes if I'd ever met her in person. She's actually quite beautiful."  
  
"But why would you…" Lana wasn't able to finish the sentence before Lex cut her off.  
  
"For me, not for Clark. What do you think I am, evil?" Lex raised his pinky finger, hand outturned to his mouth.  
  
"Only quasi-evil." They both fell into hysterics at the reference.  
  
"Well, dear sister, I need to be leaving for the office. I'll talk to you this evening, if I get home before you are asleep. That is, unless you want to stop by for lunch?" Lex stood to leave the table.  
  
"Actually, I was thinking of going to Smallville to visit Martha. I've missed her while I was away." She smiled and took a drink of her orange juice.  
  
"Well, suit yourself. If you'd rather mingle with the common people, that's fine with me." A wry grin spread across his face.  
  
"Easy, Clark." Lana recognized the line Clark had used on her after Nell and Lionell had gotten married. "I love you, Lex. I hope you have a good day. Try not to take over the world while I'm gone, ok?"  
  
"I'll try." He winked at her and left the room  
  
"Chloe?" Clark had been wondering around in Suicide Slum for a little over an hour looking for her. One of the barkeepers a couple blocks over said he'd seen her leave with a guy who lived just off this alley. Clark wondered why he'd let her come alone, but then remembered how much she hated to depend on him to keep her safe.  
  
"And just who the hell do you think you are?" The voice caught him off guard, he was so absorbed in his thoughts about Chloe.  
  
Clark turned around to face the source of the voice. He was met by a young man holding one of the gun's he'd shown Lois this morning. "I'm looking for someone, a woman. She's blonde…"  
  
"Shut the fuck up!" The man pointed the gun at Clark's head and stepped closer. There didn't seem to be anyone else with him so Clark didn't see the harm in using a bit of his abilities to subdue his new friend.  
  
In a flash, the man was out cold, his gun now in Clark's hand. He lifted him to his feet and smacked him on the face a couple times to wake him back up. The man came too groggily. When he saw Clark's face and his piercing grey eyes he started to struggle. "How'd…who…"  
  
"Why don't I ask the questions?" He pointed the gun at him, after he'd unloaded it of course. He didn't have to know that. "First off, where's Chloe Sullivan. She's a reporter for the Planet, about 5' 5", blonde hair, kind of loud?"  
  
"I don't know who the hell you're talking about man. I'm just out to make a quick score." The man's entire body began to shake. He was trying to get away, but it wasn't any use. Clark just held him harder to the wall.  
  
"Street punks don't carry prototype military weapons that were stolen from a government warehouse. Now, I want to know who you are working for, and where you are keeping Chloe." Clark now pointed the gun at the man's head.  
  
"Fine, man, I'll tell you!" The man was starting to sob. "They're keeping her in a warehouse on Hobbes Street, but I can't tell you who they are. They'll kill…"  
  
Before he could finish, Clark hit him over the back of the head again with the gun and he was out. He raced over to Hobbes Street and began searching the warehouses. Finally he found the one he was looking for. A quick scan of the building with his x-ray vision showed Chloe tied to a chair being guarded by three men with those same guns. Clark decided he'd have to disarm them before he made his move. He couldn't risk one of them getting a shot off at Chloe.  
  
It didn't take long for him to come up with a plan. He went around to the back of the warehouse, finding a window that looked in on the room where Chloe was being held. He flew up to just outside the window and focused his heat vision on the first of the two guns. The barrel quickly melted and gun became too hot for the man to hold on to. When he dropped it, Clark turned his focus on the other. Soon it too was on the floor. The next thing either of them knew, they were lying on the floor. Clark quickly untied Chloe and helped her out of the warehouse before he called the police.  
  
"Oh, God, Clark. I wasn't sure if you'd be able to find me in time. What are you even doing here?" Chloe was still wringing her hands together trying to rid them of the feeling left behind by the ropes.  
  
"I came to look for you. Mom called and wants us to come over for dinner tonight. She says that she has some sort of surprise for me. Any idea what it could be?" He put his phone back in his pocket and checked to make sure that the guards were still in the building where he'd left them.  
  
"Not really. She hasn't told me anything." She reached out and took his hand. "I could really use the break, after the day I've had."  
  
He smiled at her. "You should stop getting yourself into trouble."  
  
"Yeah, but then what would I do to be alone with you?" She reached over and kissed him, just as the first of the police arrived. 


	4. Special Gifts...

Author's Note: First off, thanks for all the reviews. I'm glad that you are enjoying this story. I'm enjoying writing it. Enough of my babbling, back to the action…  
  
There was a knock at the door as Martha Kent hung up the phone with her son. She hoped that he liked what she had made for him, but she'd have to wait until tonight to find out. Finally, she made her way to the door and was surprised by what greeted her. "Lana."  
  
"Hi, Mom." Lana smiled and gave Martha a hug after she opened the door.  
  
"How long have you been back? Clark and Lex said that you were in Europe." She walked the young woman into the Kitchen and seated her at the kitchen table. "Can I get you something to drink?"  
  
"Some of your lemonade would be great, if you have some." Lana smiled again. She really had missed Martha while she was away. She missed everything about Clark and the world she'd left behind when she left. "I just got back yesterday. You're the second person I've been to see. Lex was the first, of course, since we share that apartment."  
  
Martha sat down a glass of her famous lemonade in front her son's former girlfriend and joined her at the table. "How is Lex, he hasn't been by the house in months?"  
  
"He's been really busy since his father had the relapse." Lana savored the taste of the lemonade as she replied to Martha's question. "But, overall I think he's doing fine."  
  
"Have you let Clark know that you're back yet?"  
  
Lana could see the hidden questions in Martha's voice. She'd told her all those years ago that she still had feelings for Clark, but that she loved him too much to come between he and Chloe when they were so happy. "Not yet. I was going to surprise him tomorrow night at the benefit in Metropolis. Could you please not tell him? I really do want it to be a surprise."  
  
Martha reached out and took Lana's hand in hers. "Your secret is safe with me dear."  
  
Lana smiled and shook her head. "Oh, I know that's the truth."  
  
Martha had leaned not long after Clark and Lana first got together when they were still in high school, that Clark had told Lana about his secret. She had been rather upset at first, but then she realized that Clark was only doing what he had to. He couldn't tell a woman that he loved her, and then turn around and lie to her face. That just wasn't Clark. Besides, Lana had proved herself more than trustworthy on the numerous occasions that it appeared someone was about to figure out Clark's secret. She had done everything she could to turn them off the trail, even going so far as to risk her life on more than one occasion. Part of Martha wished that Clark were still with Lana, but an even larger part knew that he was happiest with Chloe.  
  
"Lana!" Jonathan Kent came through the kitchen door and sat took off his work gloves. "It's good to see you. It's been too long."  
  
Lana got up and gave the man a hug before rejoining Martha at the table. Jonathan went over to the refrigerator for something to drink. "It definitely has. I've missed both of you like crazy. Nearly as much as I miss Smallville."  
  
"Life in Metropolis not going how you thought it would, or just not life with the Luthors?" Jonathan's remark made Martha cringe but Lana just shrugged it off. She knew how much he disliked Lionell, and even his distrust of Lex. She decided to let him have his opinion and leave it at that.  
  
"Oh, life in the Luthor family is fine, especially since Lionell has been sick. Lex is ten times the man his father is, and I really enjoy having him as a brother." She knew that the last little bit would rile Jonathan a bit, but before he could get a chance to reply, Martha interjected.  
  
"So, Dear, are there any new men in your life?" Martha didn't want to give her husband a chance to go on another tirade about he big-bad-Luthors.  
  
Lana was caught a bit off-guard by Martha's question. She'd come expecting to talk about Clark, but now Martha wanted to know if she had been seeing anyone. "Not really. I've devoted most of my time, lately, to studying and writing. I'm going to start back to school at Metropolis University this fall to finish my undergraduate."  
  
"So you're not going to be going back to Duke?" Jonathan had finally found his footing again after being undercut by Martha.  
  
"I didn't see much of a point. I've seen the world, now all I want to do is be close to the people I care about—Nell, Lex, Clark, Pete, Chloe and you all." Lana smiled at probably the two greatest people she knew and reached over to give Martha another hug.  
  
"I can definitely understand that, Sweetie." Martha returned the hug.  
  
"Now, after that I have to say what I'm about to." Lana quickly wiped a small tear from her eye. "I'm going to have to leave now. I want to try and surprise Lex for dinner, distract him from work for a little while."  
  
"Oh, that's fine." Martha smiled at Lana as she got up to walk her out. "You tell Lex that we said hello, and that we hope he gets a chance to come by soon. Oh, and don't worry, we won't tell Clark that you're back."  
  
Lana smiled back and Martha as she stepped onto the path leading to the driveway. She got in her car and backed out onto the dirt road that ran in front of the Kent House. Just as she was driving away, she looked at the barn and focused on Clark's Fortress of Solitude. She felt the tears come back to her eyes as she remembered the last time they'd been there together, the night before she left for North Carolina, the night she made the biggest mistake of her life.  
  
********************************  
  
"Oh, I'm so glad they finally finished with their damn questions!" Chloe was exasperated as she climbed in the passenger seat of Clark's car outside the police precinct. "You'd think they were reporters or something."  
  
"And you wonder why people don't like you sometimes." Clark smiled at Chloe as she took her hand in his.  
  
"Yeah, but at least I'm halfway attractive. Did you see that guy they had interviewing me? Not only was he ugly, but he smelled funny too." Chloe settled into the seat as Clark pulled the car onto the freeway to head out of the city.  
  
"Maybe you should write an exposé on how the M.P.D. should make look and hygiene part of the job requirements."  
  
Chloe playfully slapped Clark on the arm and then wrapped both of hers around his right one. "Well, I think I'll let it slide this time. I just hope that they are able to find out where those guys got those guns."  
  
"Oh, shit!" Clark reached into his pocket to get his cell-phone. "I forgot to call Lois and let her know about this. She was supposed to be researching those guns."  
  
"Don't worry, I doubt that anyone else knows about it yet. Just call her and let her know." Chloe let go of Clarks arm so that he could make the call.  
  
The conversation didn't take long. Lois thanked Clark for letting her know and then told him goodbye. After Clark put his phone away, Chloe once again wrapped her arms around his and settled in for the ride to Smallville. "Any luck figuring out what your mom's big surprise is?"  
  
"Not really. I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with my powers, but what it is I don't know." He leaned over to kiss Chloe on the top of the head and she snuggled in even closer to him.  
  
"I guess we'll find out when we get there."  
  
They remained in silence for most of the trip, simply enjoying the presence and security they felt being together. It wasn't too long a trip, only thirty minutes once they got outside of the city. They pulled into the farmhouse driveway at 7:15 p.m. just in time to see Clark's dad coming back to the house from the barn. He smiled at them as they got out of the car and made their way to the house.  
  
"Hey, Son, Chloe." Jonathan put his arm around Clark's shoulder, then did the same to Chloe. "How's the day treated you?"  
  
Chloe and Clark smiled at each other, each laughing just a little. Clark was the one who spoke. "It was an interesting day, Dad, but why don't we wait to tell you until we get inside and see Mom."  
  
"Yeah, besides, we want to know what this big surprise is," Chloe added as Jonathan opened the door.  
  
"Surprise, did someone say something about a surprise?" Martha was just inside the kitchen, setting the table and putting the finishing touches on supper.  
  
"Yeah, what is it?" Clark noticed that Chloe was a lot like a child and Christmas.  
  
"Well, why don't we eat first?" Martha's response took the wind out of Chloe's sails and she became visibly dejected.  
  
"I guess."  
  
"Jeez, Honey. It's not even your surprise." Clark put his arm around Chloe and lifted her lips to his. "Maybe that will tide you over."  
  
"I'll make due, I guess." She smiled really big and shuffled away to help Martha finish setting the table.  
  
Soon they were all sitting, enjoying the best meal that Clark and Chloe had experienced in weeks. "Martha, I don't think there's anyone else out there who can cook like you."  
  
"Why thank you, Chloe. I can show you a few things, if you like?" She remembered a story Clark had told her about the last time Chloe tried to cook.  
  
"Actually, I think I'll leave the cooking to Clark. The last time I tried to cook something, I nearly burnt down my apartment building." Chloe could hear Clark laughing at her and she shot him a look.  
  
"Well, why don't we get to that surprise now, before someone gets hurt." Martha stood up before Clark could get himself into any more trouble.  
  
At the mere mention of the surprise, Chloe turned her attention back to Martha and bounded up from the table and followed Martha into the living room. Jonathan and Clark followed close behind and found Martha and Chloe huddled over a fairly large wrapped box  
  
"Mom, what's this?" Clark went up to the box and started to look at it.  
  
"Don't even think about it, Mr." Chloe knew he was about to use his x-ray vision.  
  
"Won't do him any good, I put a piece of lead in the top." Martha smiled, along with Chloe.  
  
"Well, Son, why don't you open it?" Jonathan gave Clark a push towards the box, and Chloe quickly helped him begin unwrapping it.  
  
Once they had it unwrapped, Clark slowly lifted the lid of the box off and removed the metal sheet that protected it from his prying eyes. Chloe pulled the tissue paper that covered that covered the surprise away.  
  
"Mom…" Clark reached down into the box and pulled out a suit of what looked to Chloe to be spandex. Emblazoned on the front of the suit was a pentagonal shield with what appeared to be an "S" in the middle of it.  
  
"What is it?" Chloe reached up to feel the leg of the suit.  
  
"I made it from the material that was inside the ship that brought Clark here. It seems be fireproof and very strong. I remember that when he was growing up Clark tried to tear a small blanket that was made out of it, but he couldn't." Martha stood to point out different aspects of the suit.  
  
"But, Mom, why did you make it?" Clark was turning it over in his hands, clearly overcome by the gift his mother had given him.  
  
"I'd been working on it for a while, but I'd put it away when you told us that you didn't want to just be some kind of superhero. I got it out again last night after we found out about what happened yesterday." She went over and stood by her husbands side. "Clark, you need to help people. That's part of who you are, the boy we raised. You've been wearing those glasses forever, and if you part your hair on the opposite side you look completely different without them on. Not to mention how you can change your eye color from blue to grey. If you wear this suit…"  
  
"No one will recognize you, and you can be both Clark Kent and a hero." Chloe finished Martha's thought as she stood to join Clark.  
  
Clark took the suit and sat down on the couch. "I don't know. Wouldn't it be too much of a risk? I don't want anyone recognizing me and then coming after one of you to get me to do something."  
  
"Son," Jonathan came over and put his hand on Clark's shoulder, "we want you to fulfill your potential. You have these gifts, and you also have this innate need to help people. That tells me that you were put here for great things. Sure, there's always that risk, but I think your mom and Chloe are right. Without your glasses and your hair parted differently, you look like a completely different person."  
  
"Why don't you at least try the suit on." Chloe grabbed Clark's hand in hers and pulled him towards the stairs. "Your mom went through the trouble to make it for you; the least you can do is try it on."  
  
With Chloe's encouragement, Clark went up the stairs and returned moments later clad in the suit, glasses removed and hair done completely differently. His eyes were also a different color, instead of the dark blue they usually were, Chloe noticed they were a very light grey.  
  
"It fits you perfectly." Chloe walked around him, lifting the red cape and examining the complete look.  
  
"I tried to base it off the design you told me for the suits that your biological parents wore in the images you saw of them the first time you learned about Krypton." Martha moved over to him, amazed by how grand and imposing her son looked in the suit.  
  
"It's perfect, Mom." He adjusted the sleeve around his wrist and reached into the box to grab the red boots that he noticed in the bottom. "I just don't know if I'm ready to do this."  
  
"I understand." Martha stood in front of him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you just take the suit home with you, and if you decide that you want to, you'll have it."  
  
"Clark, I think you should listen to your mother." Chloe finished inspecting him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Besides, I think you look kinda sexy!"  
  
Everyone in the room burst into laughter at Chloe's comment. Soon, Clark had the suit back in its box and he and Chloe were ready to return to Metropolis. He told his parents and thanked them for the gift. Chloe gave them both hugs and then she and Clark climbed back into their car for the drive home.  
  
"Clark." Chloe put her hand on his as they pulled back onto the highway. "I just want you to know that no matter what you choose, I'm going to be here for you. I'll always love you."  
  
"I know." Clark brought her hand to his lips. "I'm just not sure if I'm ready, or if I'll ever be." 


	5. The Ball...

Author's Note: I don't know if I should be telling this, it might come up later in the story, but I just wanted to explain Nell marrying Lionel. First off, haven't you noticed how cold Nell can be sometimes when it comes to how Lana feels? She kind of reminds me of how Lionel treats Lex. I know she's not that bad, but she is just shallow enough to not care about how cruel Lionel can be. Anyway, it's just a thought I had the other night, while I was re-watching Leech and Kinetic. Also, I wanted some way to make Lex and Lana close that wasn't romantic for them. I love their relationship dynamic in the show. He doesn't seem to have any romantic feelings for her, but at the same time he seems to know just what buttons to push, kinda like a big brother. Well, now that I have that off my chest, back to the show…  
  
  
  
"Dammit, where'd I put my shoes?" Chloe was rifling through her closet when her doorbell rang. Why hadn't she given Clark a key yet?  
  
When she opened the door, she was greeted by what looked to be two-dozen red roses. "Clark! You shouldn't have!"  
  
"I know, but I wanted to. Tonight is a special night, and I wanted to start it off right." He stepped inside the door, throwing his overcoat over the back of her couch. "You ready to go?"  
  
"I will be, as soon as you get your cute butt in here and help me find my shoes." She grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs. About two minutes later, they were both standing at the door, Chloe putting on her light jacket. Fro the end of August, it was unusually cold.  
  
"You look very beautiful!" Clark helped her with her sleeve before racing into the kitchen for a pitcher of water for the flowers. "Thought we better get these in water, don't want them to die."  
  
"You're not looking so bad yourself." Chloe pinched Clark on the butt, but he didn't really feel it and merely leaned down to kiss her. "Let's get going before we make ourselves late."  
  
When they arrived at the Metropolis Conservatory, a valet took their car and Clark and Chloe made their way inside. They were probably the last to arrive no one seemed to notice.  
  
"Clark, Chloe," Lex saw them enter the room. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd gotten distracted."  
  
Clark blushed at his friend's insinuation, but Chloe just seemed to beam. "If we'd gotten distracted Lex, we wouldn't be here at all."  
  
"Well, that's a bit more information than I wanted." Lex grabbed them both a glass of champagne from one of the circulating waiters. "Anyway, there's someone waiting to see you guys."  
  
Lex led them over to a group of ladies that were huddled around someone, intently listening to whatever story he or she was telling. He managed to fight his way through the throng and get the speakers attention. When she stood up, Clark and Chloe both lost their breath, though for different reasons.  
  
"Lana!" Clark swept up to his ex ad quickly embraced her. "You're back. How long?"  
  
"Yeah, and how was the Continent?" Chloe quickly wrapped her arm through Clarks and pulled him close.  
  
"Well, I've been back since Monday. I wanted to surprise you tonight, so I didn't call." She sat down her Champagne and gave Chloe a quick hug. "So, tell me. Good surprise or bad surprise."  
  
Chloe knew what she wanted to say, but luckily Clark answered first. "Definitely a good surprise. I wondered who Lex could have been talking about the other day."  
  
"Yeah, I told her about your heroics. She had the same reaction that Chloe and I did." Lex took a sip from his Brandy glass.  
  
"You can definitely count me in for one of those shirts." Lana flashed a big smile at Clark and he began to blush again.  
  
Before the conversation could go any further, one of the waiters came and whispered something in Lex's ear. "I'm sorry to run, but my date for the evening has just arrived. I'll be right back."  
  
"Date?" Chloe and Clark looked at Lana.  
  
"Hey, I'm sworn to secrecy." She smiled and raised her glass to take a drink.  
  
  
  
"Miss Lane." Lex took Lois's hand and kissed it as one of the doormen took her wrap. "I'm glad you decided to take me up on my offer."  
  
"I have to admit that I am rather curious. I've been contacting your office for the past six months, but you've refused all of my requests for an interview. Now, you call me up this morning to ask me to this benefit. What's the deal?" Lois could barely contain her astonishment at finally having the chance to meet The Lex Luthor.  
  
"Well, I stopped by the parking garage the other day to check on my friend Clark, and I saw you. I have to admit that you are quite beautiful, and that is why I invited you tonight; well that coupled with the fact that you intrigue me." Lex smiled and offered his hand to Lois. She took it and they walked back towards Clark, Chloe, and Lana.  
  
"Mr. Luthor." Lex heard a voice calling his name and turned to see who it was.  
  
"Well, if it isn't young Dick Grayson. Please, call me Lex." He extended his hand to shake the young man's. "I see that Bruce's replacement has arrived."  
  
"Bruce said that he would try to make it tonight, but he wasn't sure. There were some things that he had to take care of before he come." Dick kept stealing glances at Lois. Lex finally decided to introduce them.  
  
"Oh, Dick, this is Lois Lane, a reporter for the Daily Planet, and Lois, this is…" Lois interrupted him before he could finish.  
  
"Dick Grayson, ward of Bruce Wayne. You may not remember me, but we've met. Not lone after you came to stay with Bruce, I visited him for an interview and he introduced us." Lois extended her hand.  
  
"I'm afraid I don't, Miss Lane, but I shall surely berate myself in private later for that oversight." He smiled at her and then turned his attention back to Lex. "Bruce wanted to know if we could hold off on the check presentation until the latest moment possible. He'd really like to be here."  
  
"We'll see." Lex took Lois's hand in his. "I'll talk to you later, Dick. Right now, Miss Lane and I have some friends waiting for us."  
  
With that, he and Lois turned and finished their trip over to the small group gathered at the front of the room.  
  
"Lois?" Clark's look of surprise was plainly evident on his face. "What are you doing here? You're Lex's date?"  
  
"Date? No…I'm just…Lex called me this morning and asked me to come." She began to blush at the thought of actually being on a date with Lex Luthor. "How could I say no, after all I told you the other day I've been trying to interview him for the past six months."  
  
"So, now that the gang's all here…" Lex took Lois's hand and turned towards the dance floor. "May I have this dance?"  
  
"Why, yes, Mr. Luthor." Lois turned and did a mock-curtsy. Lex could barely keep from laughing.  
  
"Please, call me Lex." He shot her a smile, complete with a wink.  
  
As they made their way to the dance floor, Chloe turned to Clark. "Why did Lex have to invite her? I was looking forward to spending a night on the town with you."  
  
"We could always just let her know about us. She's going to figure it you sooner or later." Clark took her hand and made his way over to the dance floor, twirling her before taking her in his arms.  
  
"Why, Mr. Kent, is that a proposition?" Chloe smiled and stared into Clark's eyes.  
  
"Only if you say yes." No sooner had the words escaped his mouth than their lips met. It was only a light kiss, but it gave Clark his answer. He simply smiled and danced Chloe further onto the dance floor.  
  
Lana stood, alone by the main tables in the front of the room, watching Chloe and Clark as they kissed and then danced out onto the dance floor. There was her answer. They were still together. She'd seen enough and turned to make her exit when a hand caught her shoulder.  
  
"And just where do you think you are going, Lana?" The voice was strong and Lana recognized it instantly.  
  
"Pete!" She turned and wrapped her arms around her friend. "Did you just get here?"  
  
"Unfortunately, no. I've been here for the past two hours finalizing the details for this donation. Working with a bunch of LuthorCorp and Wayne Enterprises Lawyers is not my idea of the ideal way to spend an evening." He took Lana's other hand in his. "Would you like dance?"  
  
Lana glanced out onto the dance floor at Chloe and Clark and then to Lex and Lois. "Sure, Pete, I'd love to."  
  
***********************************  
  
"There's still no sign of them." Dick Grayson was in one of the anterior hallways to the ballroom, talking into the cuff of his tuxedo coat. "Any luck on your end?"  
  
"None yet, but all the evidence I've been able to gather up to this point leads me here. There's something, or someone, that they want in that Museum tonight." The voice was deep and coarse, almost feral. "You just keep an eye on the Mayor and the people around them. Let me know if anything gets weird."  
  
"No problem, Bruce. I'll see you later."  
  
Back inside the ballroom, everything seemed to be going absolutely according to plan. People were enjoying themselves, talking, laughing, and dancing. Suddenly, an explosion ripped through a far corner of the room. People were running, screaming from the room, as a gaping hole was opened up in the ground. Immediately, men with guns began firing into the room. Clark, Chloe, Lana, and Pete were knocked from their feet by the blast, but quickly got up. Clark and Pete ran the women towards the exit and out into the street. As they did, Clark looked up and saw a black figure sweeping down onto the roof of the Conservatory.  
  
He turned to Chloe; making sure she was all right, he pulled her away from Pete and Lana. "I'm going to go check this out."  
  
"Be careful, don't let anyone see you." She leaned up and kissed him.  
  
After the kiss was broken, he looked into her eyes. "Don't worry, I've got that covered."  
  
As a look of realization spread across Chloe's face, Clark walked away and across the street. She watched him, glancing around to see if anyone else was paying any attention to him. They weren't. They were too consumed by what was going on to be concerned about where Clark was going. Even Lana and Pete were huddling in each other's arms. When she turned to look at Clark again, he was gone. "I hope he knows what he is doing."  
  
"Chloe?" Chloe turned to face Lana. "Chloe, where's Clark?"  
  
"He went to get help." Chloe quickly lied. "He's ok."  
  
"Oh my God! Oh my God!" Lana suddenly became even more panicked. "Where's Lex? Oh my God, he must still be inside. He and Lois were closer to the explosion. Oh my god, what if he's dead?"  
  
Pete and Chloe both took Lana in their arms, trying calm her. Each reassured her that Lex would be fine, even though neither of them knew for sure. Just as they were telling her that Lex and Lois were probably out here, already looking for them, there was a flash in front of them. Chloe looked up to see a man clad in a blue and red suit. She pulled in her breath.  
  
  
  
Clark steadied himself before pushing through the doors to the Conservatory. He sped into the ballroom, where a hail of bullets greeted him. He scanned the room, looking for their intended target when he finally spotted it. In one of the upper, darkened corners of the room, near the ceiling, was Batman. Clark could tell that the gunmen had no idea where he was, so he strode into the room, hoping to give Batman a chance to move from his current position.  
  
"Ok, I think this has gone far enough!" Clark shouted at the top of his lungs, causing the walls to shake.  
  
"Who the hell?" All of the men turned to face their new guest. That was when Clark noticed something that made him stop in his place. Near the hole in the floor, one of the gunmen was holding Lex and Lois, along with some other man that Clark didn't immediately recognize but then realized was Dick Grayson. Suddenly, the hail of bullets erupted again; only this time the men could see their target—Clark.  
  
The room quickly filled with a cloud of smoke, and Clark use it as a chance to fly up to the ceiling and check in with Batman before he made any other moves. He didn't want to risk getting Lex, Lois, or Dick killed. When the smoke finally cleared, the men were dumbfounded by Clark's disappearance and just stood there holding their guns.  
  
"And just who the hell are you?" Batman looked over at the newly arrived man in the red cape and blue suit as the two met on the roof of the Conservatory.  
  
"We don't have time for that right now, Bruce. We need to save those people." Clark caught himself when he realized he'd said Bruce instead of Batman.  
  
"Bruce? How did you…" Bruce focused his gaze on the man in front of him. "Clark?"  
  
"Yeah, but before we get into the whole story, can we please save our friends?"  
  
"Not a problem."  
  
Only two minutes later, Clark once again strode in through the front door. This time, though, the gunmen were ready and let loose a slew of bullets. They simply watched as each bullet merely bounced off of their intended target and he continued to walk forward toward them. The man that was guarding the hostages was so focused on Clark, that he didn't notice Batman descending behind him. Before he new what had happened, he was laid out on the floor. Bruce quickly began to untie Lex, Lois and Dick and led them out into one of the side halls.  
  
"Who is that guy, Batman?" Lois asked as soon as Bruce undid the tape that was covering her mouth. "I don't know, Miss Lane. I just met him."  
  
Back in the ballroom, the remaining gunmen didn't know what was going on. The soon dropped their guns and began running for the hole. Before they could get there, however, Clark was in front of them blocking their exit. He grabbed the ropes that had been used to tie up his friends and Dick and proceeded to wrap their assailants. After he was finished, he looked up to see Batman standing beside him.  
  
"Good work. Does this mean that I can stop pulling double shifts and stick to Gotham?" He smiled under his cowl and Clark smiled back.  
  
"I don't know about full time, but I think it is safe to say that you won't be needed in Metropolis as often." Clark reached out to shake his friend's hand. "Right now, though, I need to go. Watch them, will you?"  
  
"Will do…" Bruce paused. "What are we supposed to call you?"  
  
"I don't know," Clark replied as he flew toward the skylight. "I haven't given that any thought."  
  
At that, Clark took of like a silver bullet, streaking out of the Conservatory just as Lex, Lois, and Dick reentered the room to find the gunmen subdued.  
  
"Did you get a name, Batman?" It was Lois again.  
  
"He said he hadn't thought of one yet." Batman replied, flatly.  
  
"Sounds like an invitation to me." Lois smiled and reached into her purse to find her notepad.  
  
  
  
Outside, Chloe, Lana, and Pete waited anxiously for any word on their friends. They were startled a bit, when Clark reappeared behind them just as the police arrived and stormed inside the building.  
  
"You made it back!" Chloe wrapped her arms around Clark and kissed him.  
  
"Is Lana ok?" Clark asked after glancing over at her and Pete.  
  
"She's worried about Lex, we all are." Chloe put her hand in Clark's, pulling him closer to her. "He hasn't made it out of the building yet."  
  
As she said this, Clark pointed to the building. "Look, there they are!"  
  
Lana heard this and looked up. When she saw Lex, she broke free of Pete's arms and made a beeline for her brother. When she got to him, she wrapped her arms around him. He returned her embrace, and Lois made her way down to her co-workers. Dick merely walked over to his limousine and got in.  
  
"You guys are not going to believe what just happened in there." Lois's voice started going a mile-a-minute, and Clark and Chloe had trouble keeping up. She relayed the start of the fiasco, and how she, Lex, and Dick had been captured and tied up. Then she talked about Batman trying to rescue them but having to flee to avoid being shot. "Then there was this, this…superman, who came in and when the men shot at him the bullets just bounced right off. Then, he tied them all up and flew away."  
  
"That sounds incredible, Lois." Clark took her hand to try and get her to quit shaking. "I'm guessing you want to write the story about this one?"  
  
"If the two of you wouldn't mind?" Lois smiled back and Clark and looked longingly to Chloe.  
  
"Of course we don't mind. After all, you were the one who saw it all." Chloe put her arm around Lois and walked her to Clark's car. "Right now, though, why don't we get you checked out and then home. You've had a long night."  
  
"I think that's a great idea. Come on, Lois." Clark opened the rear passenger door to his car and helped Chloe place the still shaken Lois in the back seat. Once they were all three in the car, Clark took Lois to a nearby hospital where she was given a clean bill of health and a couple tranquilizers before being sent home. Clark didn't know exactly how she was going to manage to get an article in before the paper went to press, but she assured him that she could do it. He and Chloe simply dropped her off at her apartment and walked her to the door. There, they told her goodnight and finally made their way back to Clark's apartment.  
  
Once they were inside, Chloe finally asked the question she'd been dying to ask ever since the Conservatory. "You used the suit?"  
  
Clark noticed the smile on her face and undid the buttons on the front of his tuxedo revealing the gold "S" set against its blue background.  
  
"Does this mean that I'm now in love with a real, live superhero?" Chloe made fluttery eyes at Clark. He wasn't about to be made fun of and scooped her up into his arms, carrying her into the bedroom. Her giggles growing louder after he shut the door.  
  
*Next Chapter, Headlines…I'll leave that one up to your imaginations* 


	6. Headlines...

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. I know that some of you were waiting for the appearance of Superman; did it live up to your hopes? Well, Here's the next installment…  
  
  
  
"Good morning," Clark greeted Chloe in the kitchen as he opened the door.  
  
"Good morning, there, Superman." Chloe looked up from her newspaper.  
  
"What did you call me?" Clark shut the refrigerator door and poured himself a glass of milk.  
  
Chloe closed the paper and turned the front page to Clark. "I guess Lois was right, she did make it into today's paper."  
  
Clark stared at the large banner headline: New Hero in Town: Batman and Superman Save Benefit Attendees. Next to it, was a picture of him, in his suit, standing in front of the Conservatory entrance. The caption below read: Mystery hero, Superman stands outside the Metropolis Conservatory before subduing gunmen and rescuing Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, and Dick Grayson. "Where the hell did she come up with Superman? It's almost as lame as when you called Eric, Superboy."  
  
"Hey, I thought that was very clever, and I kinda like Superman. It makes sense, with that big 'S across your chest." Chloe smiled at Clark, walked over and put her arms around him. "What does that stand for anyway?"  
  
"It's my family shield. It isn't really an 'S.' It just looks like one." Clark went over to his desk to get his sketchpads. "Have I ever shown you the drawings I made of my biological parents?"  
  
Chloe leaned over to look at the pictures Clark held out to her. She saw a young man and woman in white jumpsuits, both with the same, shielded "S" on their chests. "They look very distinguished."  
  
"My father was one of the highest ranking scientists on Krypton. That symbol is the seal of my family. From what I have uncovered so far, my family was one of the highest ranking on the planet. One of my ancestors even invented a way to dispense unbiased justice." Clark seemed to be engrossed in his account of his family history.  
  
"That's incredible. I guess we know where you get your smarts from then." Chloe squeezed Clark and then took off to the bedroom. "Hey, Superman, we're going to be late for work."  
  
"Speak for yourself; super-speed, remember?" Clark winked at Chloe as she scrunched up her face at him.  
  
"It never helped you avoid missing the bus." Chloe beamed in triumph from the doorway, and Clark took off after her.  
  
  
  
"So, Lex, any idea who this, 'Superman' is?" Lana sat down her copy of the Planet and looked down the table at her brother. She noticed that he had a couple bruises on his head, undoubtedly from the explosion.  
  
"No idea. It was rather amazing though, the way those bullets just bounced right off him. I just wish he'd have gotten there sooner and stopped those men from wrecking my benefit." Lex set down his coffee and picked up his copy of the paper.  
  
Lana just sat there. She couldn't be sure, not having gotten a good look at this Superman, but judging by his abilities, she figured it was Clark. She'd have to ask him about that later. Right now, though, she was more interested in her brother's love life. "Speaking of Superman, have you talked to Lois at all today?"  
  
Lex repositioned himself in his seat, obviously uncomfortable at the question. "No, we haven't spoken since before the explosion. I was rather disappointed when she left last night without saying goodbye."  
  
"Lex, she was shaken up by the explosion. I'm sure she didn't mean to ditch you." Lana tried to reassure him. "Besides, like you said, she's been trying to interview you for months. I'm sure she wouldn't risk ruining that possibility by knowingly disregarding you."  
  
"Perhaps you're right. I imagine I should give her a call." He got up and began gathering his things for work.  
  
"I have a better idea. Why don't we both stop by the Planet and see Lois and Clark?" Lana joined Lex in gathering her things.  
  
"I don't know if…"  
  
"Lex, don't even think about saying that you don't have time. You're the boss, remember that?" Lana stared him down cold, something few people could do; in fact, she was the only one. Finally, he acquiesced.  
  
"Fine, we'll stop by there on my way to the office. Now, hurry up."  
  
Lana beamed at Lex, realizing her victory. She quickly gathered her things, and they left the penthouse. Lana couldn't wait to see Clark, to see if he was Superman. She also knew that, even if he wouldn't admit it directly, Lex wanted to see Lois.  
  
  
  
"Yeah, Pete, we're all doing fine." Clark was sitting at his desk in the newsroom, talking to Pete who had called almost immediately after they had stepped off the elevator.  
  
"I wonder if Lana is ok." Clark seemed to notice a change in Pete's tone when he mentioned Lana. "She seemed really shaken up last night."  
  
"I'm sure that once she and Lex got away from the Conservatory, she got better in a hurry. She was just worried about him. I can definitely understand that."  
  
"Is that Pete?" Chloe asked as she sat back down in her desk. Clark nodded. "Hey, Pete!"  
  
"Hey, Chloe." Clark relayed Pete's response.  
  
"So, how are things over in the marble temple?" Clark changed the subject to get away from the previous night's events.  
  
"Well, actually, I was supposed to have a meeting with Lex this morning, to go over what to do about the charity donation from last night, but he hasn't gotten in this morning, yet." Pete stressed that last part, letting Clark know that he fully expected Lex to walk through the door any minute. "Anyway, how is Lois doing? I saw her article in the paper today. That Superman guy is something, eh?"  
  
Clark shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He still wasn't sure if he liked the name Superman, or not. "Actually, I haven't seen her yet this morn…" Clark stopped in mid sentence when he saw Lois step off the elevator. She looked as professional as ever, seemingly unfazed by events of the preceding night. "She just got here, and she looks like she is doing fine."  
  
"That's amazing. I figured she'd be pretty shaken up still, seeing as she was one of the three actually held captive, and that it was the second time in three days she was assaulted." Clark nodded at what Pete said, even though he knew Pete couldn't see him.  
  
"Good morning, Clark, Chloe." Lois set her things down at her desk and seated herself in front of her computer.  
  
"I loved your article this morning, Lois." Chloe winked at Clark when she said this, careful not to let Lois see her. "I especially like the name Superman."  
  
Clark cringed ever so slightly when Chloe said that. She really wasn't going to let him forget this. "Yeah, I liked it too. I'm still amazed you got it in on time."  
  
"Barely. I didn't think I was going to make it, but I worked like a mad woman to finish it. With all the energy I had, I don't know what I would have been like without the tranquilizers." She smiled back at Chloe and Clark. "Have you two been holding out on me?"  
  
Clark and Chloe both noted the rapid change in subject and were momentarily caught off-guard. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, are you two a couple or what?" Lois leaned over her desk, alternating her glare between each of them.  
  
Clark wasn't sure what Chloe wanted to say, but he didn't get a change to wonder for long. Chloe quickly responded to Lois's question. "Actually, we are."  
  
Clark breathed a sigh of relief and noticed the big smile on Chloe's face before Lois spoke again. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? Not think I could handle working with two people who were involved with each other?"  
  
"It wasn't anything like that; we just didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable, like you had to worry about us ganging up on you." Clark finally made a contribution to the conversation.  
  
"It's sweet, but you shouldn't have." She curled her hands up into fists. "Besides, I think I could take you both."  
  
Everyone was so busy laughing at Lois, that nobody noticed the two new arrivals at their office space. "Good morning, everyone."  
  
Clark was the first to respond to their new visitors. "Lana, Lex. What a surprise to see you here."  
  
Lois quickly quit laughing and readjusted her skirt and blouse. "Mr. Lu…I mean, Lex."  
  
"How is everyone doing after our little adventure last night?" Lex walked over by Lois, while maintaining eye contact with everyone. "You all left so quickly that I didn't get a chance to make sure you were alright."  
  
"I'm sorry that we took off so quickly, Lex." Lois stood up to look at Lex. "I was still a bit shaken up by what happened, and I wanted to get home so that I could write my article for this morning's paper."  
  
"That's alright. I know you wouldn't have ditched me on purpose." He smiled, playfully at her. She blushed. "It was quite good, by the way. Any idea who this superman fellow is, or where he comes from?"  
  
Everyone just sort of shrugged in response to Lex's inquiry, even though two of them knew exactly who he was. Chloe was the first to respond. "I don't think anyone really saw his face last night, nobody but Batman."  
  
"And, ass usual, he didn't stick around to give any comment to the media." Clark finished Chloe's thought.  
  
Lois returned to her seat, pulling herself up to her computer. "I just hope that I get a chance to interview him before anyone else. A new superhero in Metropolis, can you believe it?"  
  
"So, Clark, who you on the phone with?" Lana pointed to the telephone receiver sitting on Clark's desk.  
  
"Oh, crap, Pete!" Clark grabbed the phone, only to hear Pete whistling on the other end. "Sorry about that, Pete. Lex and Lana just got here and I forgot about you."  
  
"Don't sweat it. Is Lex going to be coming in soon, because if not, I'm going to get to work on those new contracts he sent down to me yesterday?"  
  
"Lex, Pete wants to know if you're going to be in soon, he said something about a meeting to go over the details for the donation from last night's benefit." Clark could see Lex's eyes widen.  
  
"Tell him I'll be right there. I completely forgot about that." He got up from the edge of Lois's desk and started for the elevator. "I'm glad you're all ok. I'll see you all later."  
  
As the elevator door closed on Lex, the remaining four people stood in relative silence. "I guess last night is bothering him more than he is letting on."  
  
"You know what, Chloe, I think you're right." Clark leaned back in his chair. "By the way, Pete, he's on his way."  
  
"It's not like Lex to forget about anything, especially when it has to do with business." Chloe had her pencil stuck behind her ear and was leaning back in her chair as Clark finally hung up with Pete.  
  
"I think you're right." Lana pulled up one of the chairs along the wall of the room and sat in front of Clark's desk. "He seemed a little more distant at breakfast this morning."  
  
"Breakfast?" Lois shot an inquiring look at Lana.  
  
"You know, for an investigative reporter, you seem to know very little about Lex." Clark laughed slightly at Lois's minor display of jealousy. "This is Lana Lang, Lex's step-sister."  
  
"Oh." Lois was openly embarrassed, but extended her hand to Lana. "I didn't recognize you. You look different than you did five years ago."  
  
"Don't worry about it. Well, I hate to run, but there are some things that Nell wants me to take care of today, and I promised Pete I'd stop by and see him later. I'll see you." Lana got up and hugged Clark and Chloe goodbye and made her way to the elevator. When the door closed behind her, she let out a sigh. She'd just have to ask Clark about the Superman deal later. Just then, the elevator stopped and the lights went out.  
  
"What in the?" Lana regained her footing and tried pressing the buttons. It was no use; she was stuck.  
  
*Sorry to leave it like this, but you can guess what is next! Superman to the rescue!* 


	7. Those in the Know...

Author's Note: Just want to take another opportunity to thank you all for your reviews, and to encourage others to post some. I'm glad that some of you are enjoying the guest appearances, and I just want to let you know that there will be more coming. Well, now back to the show…  
  
For a moment, Lana merely sat in silence, trying to determine what was going on. She'd been caught on elevators before, so she wasn't immediately frightened. Things changed quickly, though, when she heard something land on the top of the car. Quickly, the hatch in the ceiling opened up and a man clad in black dropped down.  
  
"Who…?" Before Lana could get out another word, the man had a gun pointed in her face.  
  
"You're coming with me, Miss Lang." He kept the gun pointed at her and tugged on his rope. He wrapped his arms around her and they were both drawn up the shaft.  
  
"Help! Somebody, Help!" Lana was able to scream before she cleared the elevator shaft. She wasn't sure if anyone would hear her, but maybe Clark would.  
  
  
  
Clark had just finally gotten to work when he thought he heard someone crying out for help. It took him a second before he realized that the voice was Lana. He immediately scanned the elevator and realized that it was stuck between floors, and it was empty. When he realized that the top hatch was open, he looked up at the roof of the building, just in time to see a helicopter flying away.  
  
"Chloe, I'm going to step out for a minute. I left something that I need at home." Clark winked at Chloe, letting her know that he was making it up.  
  
"Sure, I'll let Perry know where you are if he asks." She reached out for his hand, a private message passing between them—be careful.  
  
"Thanks." Clark let go of Chloe's hand and made his way to the stairs.  
  
As he made his way down, he tried to think of the best place to change out of his clothes. Finally, he found an empty janitor's closet where he could stash his work clothes until he got back. After changing, he raced up to the roof and began to survey the sky for the helicopter. He couldn't see it anywhere, so he took to the sky. It was the first time he'd ever flown over Metropolis in the daylight; always afraid he'd be recognized by someone. It didn't take long to locate the helicopter, but Lana wasn't there. A quick scan of the surrounding buildings yielded her location.  
  
She was in an abandoned warehouse, on the river. Just like with Chloe the other day, she was being held by men carrying the prototype guns Lois was investigating. Clark realized he would need to be careful to avoid any of the men hurting Lana. Unfortunately, there were too many of them to use the same tactics he'd utilized before. After a short consideration he decided he'd have to lure the guards away from her.  
  
The first opportunity presented itself in the form of the helicopter. By focusing his heat vision on the chopper, Clark was able to cause an explosion that shook the surrounding buildings. Clark checked the room where Lana was being held and saw three of the five guards heading down the stairs to see where the explosion had come from. He took the opportunity to take out the remaining guards. When they were unconscious, he finally untied Lana.  
  
"Superman!" Lana wrapped her arms around her rescuer. "Thank god you were able to find me!"  
  
"We better get out of here before the rest of your guards get back. I'll leave you somewhere safe and then come back for them." He swept her up in his arms and they flew away.  
  
"Superman, or should I say, Clark." She looked at him as they flew towards nearest police station.  
  
"I wondered how long it would take you to make the realization." He smiled back at her.  
  
"Don't worry, I wouldn't have if I hadn't known what you were capable of. You look really different with your hair and eyes like that, not to mention this suit." She reached back and tugged on his cape. "It makes you look so imposing, larger than life."  
  
"That's good; I was a little worried that people would be able to tell it was me." He smiled at her and began his descent. "Stay here until I get back with the bad guys, then I'll take you home."  
  
"Don't worry, Superman. I will." She smiled as Clark sat her down and then took off again.  
  
  
  
"Hey, Lois." Jimmy Olson got off the elevator and made his way over to Lois's desk. "Thought you might like to know that Superman's been spotted rescuing some woman over by Hobbes Pier."  
  
"What? Who?" Lois got up immediately and grabbed her purse and notepad.  
  
"I don't know." Jimmy grabbed his camera as he and Lois made their way to the elevator.  
  
Chloe just sat at her desk, smiling. "Have fun, Clark."  
  
  
  
"Superman." A police officer in street clothes walked up to Clark and Lana after several other officers had taken the men Superman brought in and began to book them. "I just want to thank you for bringing them here. We've been trying to capture some of these people for a while, but we couldn't because of their guns."  
  
"I'm glad that I could help. It seems that they were the same people who interrupted the Luthor/Wayne benefit last night." Clark extended his hand to the officer. "If I had to make a guess, I'd say that they are after something that the Luthors have. Miss Lang here is a Step-daughter of Lionel and step-sister to Lex, and Lex was one of the people captured last night."  
  
"That's probably a good place to start from, Superman. Oh, by the way, I'm detective Halstrom, Arnie Halstrom." The detective shook Clark's hand.  
  
"Oh, Superman!" Clark turned when he recognized Lois's voice behind him. When he turned around, Jimmy snapped a photo of him that was sure to appear in tomorrow's paper. "Don't think you can run out on me this time."  
  
"Miss Lane." Clark smiled at her. "I wouldn't dream of it."  
  
"Miss Lang, it's good to see you again." Lois extended her hand to Lana. "Though I wish it wasn't under these circumstances. I assume you were the one Superman rescued?"  
  
"Yes, Lois, and please call me Lana." She shook Lois's hand. "Actually, now that the police have had a chance to interview me, and I've been able to thank our hero here, I really need to be going. Like I said earlier, there are things I need to be doing."  
  
"Quite understandable." Lois turned back to face Clark as Lana stood, looking at him.  
  
"Oh, Lois, I'm sorry." Clark remembered he had promised to take Lana home after they were through at the police station. "I'm already promised Lana that I would take her home."  
  
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to avoid talking to me, Superman." Lois smiled at him; at the same time he could sense a small amount of disappointment in her voice. "Promise that you'll let me interview you soon?"  
  
"How's later today?" Clark could see Lois's eyes light up. "I can come by your office."  
  
Lois thought she was going to faint. You'll come by the office? "Sounds great!"  
  
"I'll see you later then, Miss Lane." He took Lana in his arms. "Shall we be going?"  
  
"Definitely."  
  
Several minutes later, Lana and Clark were back at Lex and Lana's apartment. "Thanks, again, for saving me, Clark."  
  
"Don't worry about it Lana. You're my friend, and I can help you. If I didn't, that would make me no better than the men who took you. I've realized that recently." Clark stood at an open window, preparing to fly back to the Daily Planet to resume his day as Clark Kent, mild mannered investigative reporter.  
  
"Just the same, thank you, and thank you for saving Lex last night." She went over and gave him a big hug, not wanting to let go. "It's good to have you back in my life."  
  
"It's good to be back in it. When you left for Europe, I thought for sure that you didn't want to ever speak to me again." He broke their embrace, looking her in the face.  
  
"I didn't, but then I realized how much I missed talking to you. You were my best friend, Clark, even before we were together. You got me through the tough times, and I can't lose that just because we're not together anymore." She stopped, breathing in deep before saying what came next. "Don't get me wrong, I still love you, and it still hurts to see you with Chloe. I know how you must have felt, seeing me with Whitney all those years ago, but I can't lose what we had then."  
  
"Don't worry, Lana. I'll always be here for you. You're going to find someone else. I truly believe that." He kissed her on the cheek.  
  
"Thank you." She was desperately trying to hold back tears. "Thank you for being my friend."  
  
"I'll see you later, Lana. Be careful if you go out again. You may want to get some guards. I'm going to pay Lex a visit tonight and see if he has any idea what these guys could be after." With that, he waved goodbye and took off into the sky back towards the Daily Planet building.  
  
Lana just stood there, tears still in her eyes as she whispered into the empty room. "But I want you, Clark. I just want you."  
  
Clark reemerged from the stairwell, dressed in his work clothes. Chloe saw him approaching the desk and pulled him down to whisper in his ear. "I heard you had to rescue Lana."  
  
Clark just nodded and sat back down at his desk. "Has Lois gotten back yet?"  
  
"Not yet, but she called to let me know that Superman plans on stopping by later." She smiled at him.  
  
"Is that so?" he reached in his file drawer to retrieve some of the stories he'd been working on since Monday. "I bet she's pretty excited."  
  
"Everyone's excited." Chloe feigned her amazement.  
  
"Well, I think I'm going to go do some footwork on these stories. I'll see you tonight, your place?" Clark winked at her, and she acknowledged that she'd seen it.  
  
"Sure. Don't forget to pick up dinner." She smiled at him and blew him a kiss as he made his way to the elevator.  
  
"How's Chinese sound?" He smiled silly grin that let her know he meant real Chinese food.  
  
Chloe simply smiled and shook her head. "You spoil me, Clark."  
  
"No, I love you," he managed to say before the elevator door shut and he made his way downstairs.  
  
  
  
About an hour after Clark left for the day, Lois returned from the police station where she had managed to interview several people about the guns and the men Superman had captured. She seemed really happy when she sat down next to Chloe and began typing on her computer.  
  
"You really are in a good mood." Chloe looked up from her own work to see the expression on Lois's face.  
  
"It's not everyday, that a reporter gets an exclusive with a Superhero. Especially one as cute as Superman." Lois's eyes fluttered and she sighed after her last comment.  
  
Chloe was slightly taken aback. She was talking about her Clark, but no, she was talking about Superman. To the rest of the world, he wasn't just her Clark anymore. He was Superman now too. "He is kinda cut, but not as cute as Clark."  
  
"Speak for yourself." Lois quickly responded to Chloe's assertion. "But then again, you are in love with Clark."  
  
"You've got that right, and I couldn't be happier." Chloe returned to her typing. "When did he say he'd be by, anyway?"  
  
"Just sometime this afternoon. He didn't say exactly when." Just then, a breeze knocked some papers off Lois's desk and she looked upu to see Superman flying in through a set of open windows.  
  
"I do believe that I promised you an interview, Miss Lane." He walked right over to her desk, everyone in the office transfixed on him. "Do you think we could go to the roof, perhaps?"  
  
Lois tried to regain her composure, unsure of what to say. She finally managed a reply. "Sounds like a plan to me."  
  
Clark just smiled at how awkward Lois was and made his way to the elevator, signaling for Lois to follow. This is going to be interesting. 


	8. The Plot Thickens...

Author's Note: I'm sorry that's it's taken so long for me to write this chapter. Things have been crazy lately. I know that some of you want to see Clark and Lois get together, and I want to let you know that is going to happen at some point. However, right now it's Clark and Chloe, with Lana in the background. The relationship with Lois is something that is going to play a major role later in the story, but right now it isn't really present at the surface. I guess you'll just have to stay tuned to find out what happens…:-)  
  
  
  
When Clark and Lois finally emerged on the roof of the Daily Planet building, they were greeted with a blast of sunlight. "So, Miss Lane, how are you doing since your ordeal the other night?"  
  
Lois was a little surprised that he was the one asking the questions; wasn't that her job? "I'm doing ok. A lot better than I'd be without you around."  
  
"I'm glad that I could help you." Clark smiled at her, glad that they had broken through the ice, so to speak. "So, what would you like to know?"  
  
"Ahh…I see you're one who likes to cut tot he chase." Lois returned his smile and took a seat on the base of the giant globe that rested atop the building. "The first question I have is where did you come from?"  
  
"That seems like as good a place as any." He joined her. "First, the people should know that I have lived my whole life here on earth, but I'm not originally from this planet."  
  
The shock of what he had just told her was plainly evident on her face. It took her a moment to wrap herself around it. "So, you're an alien?"  
  
"In a manner of speaking. My home world was destroyed by a natural disaster, but before its destruction, my parents placed me in a ship that brought me to earth." He still wasn't completely sure how much he should reveal to Lois about himself, but he knew that the public would need to know at least the basic things about him in order to trust him. "I was raised by parents here on Earth, just like any other child."  
  
"That's amazing." Lois just sat there, trying to soak everything in. "So, what exactly can you do?"  
  
This was an area that Clark was unsure about. He didn't want to let potential enemies know that full extent of his powers, but he did feel that a bit of foreknowledge could keep potential wrongdoers from perpetrating an act in the first place. "Well, first off, as you know, I can fly. I am also invulnerable, extraordinarily strong, can see through solid objects, and move exceedingly fast."  
  
Lois could sense that he was holding something back but she didn't want to pressure him. Perhaps it was better that he didn't give away all of his trade secrets. "So, why did you pick Metropolis?"  
  
"I didn't really 'pick' Metropolis; it picked me." Clark stood and walked over to the edge of the rooftop. "This city needs a hero, this world needs a hero. I have the ability to do things that are great, and I feel that I have to. This world has given me so much, and I want to give something back to it."  
  
"Have you met any of the rest of Earth's superheroes?" She could tell that he was deeply moved by his statement of purpose. "Besides Batman, I mean."  
  
Clark turned to her and smiled. "Not yet. I imagine I will, but not yet."  
  
Just then, Clark heard a woman shout for help and snapped his head to the side. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but someone needs my help."  
  
Lois simply stood there. "That's fine, this is great for now."  
  
"We'll do it again, sometime," Clark replied as he rose from the roof and flew away.  
  
After he was gone, Lois spoke under her breath. "Yes, we will, Superman, yes we will."  
  
As she turned for the door leading back down to the office, she jotted down super hearing on her list of powers.  
  
  
  
"I'm fine, Lex." Lex had called her about an hour after Clark had left. "I'm just glad that Superman was there."  
  
"That makes two of us. The police told me that Superman thinks that the guys that grabbed you are some of the same guys that interrupted the benefit."  
  
"Yeah. Any idea what they could be after?" She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.  
  
"Not really. About the only business that LuthorCorp isn't in is the weapons industry, and that seems to be what these guys are interested in." She could tell he was holding something back. He always was.  
  
"Money, then?" She didn't want to pressure him. He'd tell her when and if he was ready.  
  
"Perhaps. I'm going to put in a call to some of my Vice Presidents and check on the status of some of our more sensitive projects just in case. I'll see you at home tonight."  
  
"Ok, Lex. I love you, and be careful." She was more frightened than she had realized. "I don't know what I'd do without you."  
  
"You won't have to find out, Lana. I promise." Lex hung up the phone and left Lana sitting on the living room couch holding the phone to her chest.  
  
  
  
"Mr. Luthor." Dr. Emmit Hamilton answered the phone after his secretary informed him that his boss was on the phone.  
  
"Dr. Hamilton. I'm glad that I was able to catch you. How are things going down in the lab?" Lex knew that he'd be there, the man hardly left the office.  
  
"Things are going well. We're about to enter phase three on the project tomorrow. Things are very exciting." Dr. Hamilton was seated at his desk, watching a slew of data scroll down his computer screen.  
  
"I'm going to be doubling security at all of out top-secret projects beginning today. There might be someone out there trying to get their hands on something that we're working on. Of all the projects, yours is the most important, so I wanted to let you know about this development personally. For security's sake, I'd appreciate it if you'd not leave the lab for a few days. Wouldn't want anyone to kidnap you." Lex punched up a security blueprint of the LuthorCorp labs outside Metropolis, formerly the Cadmus facility.  
  
"No problem, Mr. Luthor. Thank you for calling me and letting me know." Dr. Hamilton quickly began encrypting all the data on his computer.  
  
"I'll speak to you later, Dr." As Lex hung up the phone, he buzzed his secretary. "Marilyn, could you call Gustaf in Security and tell him to come by my office."  
  
  
  
Clark had really hated running out on Lois like that, but that poor old woman was being mugged. She'd been surprised when he landed behind her assailant and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned a gun and pointed it directly at Clark's chest. He just grabbed it before the man could even figure out what had happened. Now, he was just glad that he'd been able to get dinner for him and Chloe. As he descended the stairs to her apartment, he straightened his tie and adjusted his glasses. Then, he knocked.  
  
"Clark!" she threw her arms around him, nearly crushing the food he held in his hands. "Wasn't sure you'd make it."  
  
"Miss dinner with you? Never!" He gave her a big kiss before entering the apartment.  
  
She followed him in and got out a couple plates for them to eat off. "Hey, thought you might be interested. One of the guys that you nabbed earlier, the ones who kidnapped Lana, used to work at LuthorCorp Biotech. He was maintenance worker. Apparently he was fired for trying to sell company secrets."  
  
"You don't say?" Clark dumped out his food onto the plate. "I was planning on dropping by Lex's later tonight, talking to him about what is going on."  
  
"That's probably a good idea." Chloe joined him at the table. "He's one of our best friends, but there's still a lot we don't know about him, or his company. Who knows what his dad had peculating."  
  
"Did Lois say anything about the interview?" Clark stuck a his chopsticks into the pile of rice on his plate.  
  
"Other than it's running front-page tomorrow, no." Chloe smiled a big mischievous grin. "I'm kinda jealous."  
  
"Ahh, that's cute. You shouldn't be, though. You're the one who gets to do this." He leaned over and kissed her, hard.  
  
After the kiss broke and Chloe regained her breath she was able to respond. "I better be!"  
  
They both sat in relative silence, simply eating their food, each occasionally stealing a glance at the other. Suddenly, the phone rang.  
  
"Hello," Chloe picked up the receiver. "Yeah, Clark's here."  
  
She handed him the phone. "This is Clark Kent."  
  
"Hello, Clark." A familiar voice greeted him.  
  
"Bruce!" Clark took the phone and sat back down at the table. "How'd you find me here?"  
  
"I'm Bruce Wayne, Clark. I can do about anything I want, remember." Clark could hear an unusual lightness in Bruce's voice. It quickly faded. "The reason I called was to ask you if you have anymore leads on the guys from the conservatory the other night. I've been digging here in Gotham, and I found an abandoned warehouse that I think they used to work out of. Or, at least I thought it was abandoned the first time I discovered it."  
  
Clark wasn't sure he liked where this was going. "What was in there, Bruce?"  
  
"I don't know if you're going to believe this, Clark, but I found a hidden medical facility under the building. In it, there were what appeared to be…" He struggled with the last part. "People, Clark, people. Only they weren't alive. They were floating in tanks, suspended in some sort of amniotic fluid. I checked out some of the computers and found some information that was very interesting. They weren't just people; they were clones." 


	9. What Lies Beneath...

Author's note: I'd like to apologize, again, for the lack of consistent updates to this story as of late. To allay all fears right now, I want to offer a flat denial of any desire on my part to introduce Bizzaro into this story. What role the clones are going to play is not going to be an attempt to clone Superman. Remember, he's a newbie on the scene. Well, now it's time to get back to the story…  
  
The moment Clark heard the word clones, he turned to Chloe and told her that he had to get to Gotham and see something. Five minutes later, he was standing in the Batcave.  
  
"I hate it when you do that!" Bruce stood up from his chair when he heard the swoosh behind him, only to see Clark standing behind him.  
  
"I'm sorry, Bruce. I just couldn't believe what you told me. I had to see it for myself."  
  
"Well, let's go then." Bruce got up and went into the dressing his dressing chamber. Two minutes later, he emerged in the Batsuit, greeted by Clark in his own costume. "Ok, I still don't recognize you the first time I see you."  
  
"Well, that makes it official. If Batman can't tell who I am, then no one can."  
  
Clark's smile caused a rare reciprocation from the Dark Knight. "Come on, we'll take my car."  
  
Inside of fifteen minutes, they were both standing outside an abandoned warehouse in Gotham's industrial district. The building looked like it hadn't been used in over a decade, rusted walls, broken windows. Bruce opened the door and he and Clark walked into the center of the room.  
  
"I couldn't believe that I didn't notice it the first time, but there is a trap door in the floor here." He reached down and brushed dirt away from what looked like a seam in the tiles of the floor.  
  
"I can't see anything with my x-ray vision. The floor must be lined with lead."  
  
"Yeah, they are. Most likely to prevent anyone from detecting some of their equipment." Bruce began to descend the ladder that lead down into the hole.  
  
Soon, he and Clark were both at the bottom, faced with a very dark corridor. Bruce made his way down the side, seemingly completely comfortable in the dark. Clark walked confidently behind him. When they'd gone several yards, Bruce opened a door to their left. Behind it, a horrible sight greeted Clark. Floating, suspended in tanks in the middle of the room were what looked like young men, all connected to various machines. Bruce walked up to one of the nearby computer banks and began punching buttons. On the screen in front of him, appeared an illustration of the cloning process.  
  
"From what I've been able to ascertain so far, Superman, these clones aren't viable. They were all produced and grown, but they're not able to survive past this age. There's something going wrong in the developmental process, and they haven't been able to figure it out yet." Bruce punched up the monitors for the various tanks. "From these readings, these five have been like this for just over a week. They're brain dead, being kept alive by the instruments attached to them."  
  
"There's no idea who is behind this?" Clark walked over to one of the tanks and put his hand against the glass.  
  
"None. There are only two companies in the world, which I know of, who have even played with the idea of cloning humans. Neither has announced any advances, and one actually announced that they were abandoning their project because of difficulties they had experienced in the animal testing with Primates. That was STAR Labs, and the other was Wayne Enterprises. Wayne Enterprises is still in the early stages, having only managed to clone livestock. They're years from a viable test with Primates. They're being responsible." He joined Clark next to the tanks.  
  
"Well, it looks like there's a new player in the game." Clark took his hand away from the tanks. "And, it looks like they're in the lead."  
  
"I'm not totally sure who it is, but I have my suspicions." Bruce made his way to the door, following Clark's lead.  
  
"What other company or group has the technology and resources to implement a project like this?" Clark shut the door and sealed it with his heat- vision.  
  
"Two real options: the government, or LuthorCorp." They had returned to the warehouse.  
  
"I think it is time that I finally paid Lex the visit I've been meaning to." Before Bruce could even respond, Clark was gone.  
  
  
  
Chloe hated it when Clark had to run out on her like this. She knew that what he was doing was bigger than both of them, but her heart was still broken every time he walked out the door, or in his case, flew out the window. She'd been laying in her bed for the past four hours, trying to sleep, unable to rest. Finally, she got up and made her way back into the living room. Before she could sit down, the phone rang.  
  
"Hello?" Chloe's voice was soft and sleepy.  
  
"Chloe, it's Lois." Lois sounded like she'd never been to sleep that night.  
  
"Lois, it's 4:30 in the morning. What do you want?" Chloe wiped her face with her hands, trying to wake herself.  
  
"I think I might have found something about our stories. The only problem is, that I need some help. I tried calling Clark, but he wasn't home." Chloe finally noticed that Lois seemed excited.  
  
"Where are you?" Chloe was finally most of the way awake.  
  
"Well, right now I'm at the office, but someone just called me, saying that they have some information about the disappearances in Suicide Slum and they said that it has something to do with the Mayor."  
  
"You just sit tight, and I'll be there in about thirty minutes." Chloe got up and made her way back into her room to grab some clothes. "Don't budge until I get there."  
  
As she hung up the phone, she grabbed a pen and some paper to leave a note for Clark. Five minutes later, she was dressed and on her way to the office. When she arrived, she found the building fairly deserted. Perry had given keys to both she and Clark. He told them that they'd surely need them at some point, Lois always did. Chloe finally understood what he had meant by that.  
  
The elevator ride up to the newsroom floor was quiet, the only sounds besides her breathing was the dings of the elevator as it passes the various floors. When she got off at the newsroom, she found Lois slumped over her desk, asleep. She gently shook.  
  
"Lois, I'm here." She sat down at her desk as Lois picked up her head from the desk.  
  
"What time is it?" Lois looked blankly at her clock. "Oh Shit!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"We're supposed to meet this source in ten minutes, on the other side of town." Lois grabbed her purse and ran to the Elevator.  
  
"Don't' worry. I'll get us there." Chloe smiled as she pushed the button for the ground floor.  
  
  
  
"I'm tired of your excuses!" A loud voice boomed over the speaker system in the blank, white room. In the center of it, a man was on his knees. "Why haven't you been able to complete your project?"  
  
"Sir, no one can figure out why the clones keep dying. We're doing all that we can." The man trembled as he kept his head pointed at the floor. "And, every effort we've made to get what we need from LuthorCorp, something stops us."  
  
"No more!" The voice boomed, once again. "I'm tired of hearing about this…Superman!"  
  
"But…"  
  
"Take him out and kill him. I don't want to see his face again." The man was then drug from the room, kicking and screaming. When the door shut, the room darkened again.  
  
  
  
"Mr. Luthor, there's someone at the door for you." Lex's butler had just gotten to work to find Lex at his desk, already checking the markets in Europe.  
  
"Who is it?" Lex looked up from his computer.  
  
Before he could respond, Clark came into the room, or more correctly, Superman came into the room. "We need to talk, Mr. Luthor."  
  
"Superman, to what do I owe this visit?" Lex got up from behind his desk and made his way over to Clark.  
  
"To get directly to the point, I need to know if LuthorCorp is working on a human cloning project." He ignored Lex's offered hand, intent on his question.  
  
Lex was slightly surprised by the forwardness of Superman's question, but he quickly recovered. "Superman, I can assure you that LuthorCorp is obeying the ban on human cloning that was initiated last year. The only project in the area of cloning that we have in the works deals with the cloning of livestock. We've been publicizing that for years."  
  
"Well, Mr. Luthor, it seems that someone is interested in something you have going on at LuthorCorp. I just found out that the men who have tried to kidnap you and Miss Lang are into some pretty serious, and definitely illegal, experiments in human cloning." Clark noticed Lex's already pale face turn an even more ghostly shade of white.  
  
"You can't be serious. That's barbaric." Lex sat back down at his desk, as Clark came closer to him. "What could they possibly want with me, or my company?"  
  
"I'm not entirely sure, Mr. Luthor, but are you sure that there's nothing in your ongoing projects that could be useful to these criminals?" Clark sat down across from his friend.  
  
"Nothing, Superman, but I will definitely let you know if I find anything out, can you do the same for me?" Lex reached his hand out to Clark.  
  
"Certainly. Give my best to your sister, please." Clark shook the man's shaking hand. "You may want to double your security for the time being as well."  
  
"Already done." Lex breathed deeply as Clark turned to leave. "When can I expect you again?"  
  
"Tomorrow. Hopefully, by then I will have more answers. Do you mind if I…" Clark indicated the Window directly behind Lex's desk.  
  
"By all means. Thanks, again for the heads-up." Lex opened the window and Clark prepared to fly away.  
  
"Just be careful, these are some very, very sick people." At that, Clark was off, leaving Lex alone, behind his desk, looking out into the morning sky.  
  
"This isn't going to be good," Lex said as he turned back to his desk.  
  
"What isn't going to be good?" Lana was up earlier than Lex had expected. "Did I just miss someone?"  
  
  
  
"Are you sure he said that he'd be here at six?" Chloe and Lois had been waiting in an alley behind a bar in Suicide Slum for a little over an hour. At first, the bums had been rather benign, still sleeping off the previous night's drinking, but several of them had begun to awaken, stirring in their piles of newspapers. Some had even gotten up and dug through the trash looking for their breakfast.  
  
"He said he'd be here, and he's never stood me up before." Lois ducked back into Chloe's Jeep and took another sip of her coffee. "This just isn't like him, not at all."  
  
Just then, one of the bums knocked on the window of the Jeep. Chloe and Lois nearly jumped out of their seats. "You ladies waiting for someone in particular?"  
  
It took Lois a moment, but she recovered enough to respond to the man's question. "Yeah, I'm looking for Jack O'Bannon. He spends most of his nights here, you know him?"  
  
"Black Jack, yeah, I know him. Also know that he aint never gonna show his face around here again. Not after what the Ninja's did to him."  
  
Chloe and Lois both looked at each other in disbelief. Chloe was the first to speak. "Ninjas?"  
  
"Yep, Ninja's. Grabbed him last night not long after most everyone was asleep. I saw them, but luckily they didn't see me, else they'd a gutted me for sure." The man mad motions that Lois and Chloe could only guess were supposed to mimic those of a Ninja.  
  
"Any idea what they did with him?" Lois squeezed her way back into the conversation.  
  
"Well, they threw him into the back of a big, black van and drove off. I'm guessin' they took him wherenever they took the rest." The m an leaned up against the Jeep and seemed to get a tad depressed by the story he was telling.  
  
"You mean you've seen these men before?" Lois reached into her purse and grabbed her note pad.  
  
"Sure have, they're always around these parts, grabbing people and wees never bees seein' thems again. Several me friends been taken. Miss 'em." Tears began to form in the man's eyes.  
  
Before either Chloe or Lois could respond, something in front of the car caught their eyes. It was Superman. "Either of you ladies have anything new on the disappearances in these parts?"  
  
Chloe smiled as she rolled down her window so that they could hear him better. The homeless man fled in fear back to his bed of newspapers and cardboard boxes. Lois was also sitting in her seat, smiling as Clark approached the vehicle. "Well, we were supposed to be meeting one of Lois's sources down here, but it seems the bad guys got to him first. At least that's what that guy over there told us."  
  
"Well, why don't we get you two back to the Planet and Clark can fill you in on the rest. I already talked to him before coming to look for you two. In the mean time, I've got some more investigating to do."  
  
"Sure thing Superman." Chloe winked at her lover, hoping that Lois didn't see her.  
  
Lois was not to be outdone by her partner in crime. "We'll see you later then?"  
  
"Definitely, Miss Lane." Clark soared back into the sky as Chloe started up the car and pulled out of the alley, turning towards downtown and the Daily Planet building. 


	10. The Search is On...

Author's Note: Ok, I know that I haven't updated this in FOREVER, but things have been very, shall we say, strange in my life of late. Well, I hope that this next installment was somehow worth the wait for all of you who've been waiting patiently, or impatiently. Well, now back to the story. When summer arrives, I should be a little more regular with my updates.  
  
The drive back to the planet took twice as long as the drive out to suicide slum, but neither of the ladies was interested in getting a speeding ticket and delaying themselves any further. It was ok to drive like a maniac at 5:30 in the morning, but an entirely different thing at 7:00. When they got off the elevator in the newsroom, they found Clark sitting at his desk, busily typing away at his computer.  
  
"Oh, it's nice to see that you ladies could make it into work today." Clark smiled at them.  
  
"Very funny, Clark." Chloe walked up to him and punched him in the arm. "We've been at work since before dawn."  
  
"Yeah, I got your note." He reached up and grabbed her hand. "Did you all find out anything interesting?"  
  
"Not really. Superman told us that he told you what he found out." Lois sat down across from her two co-workers.  
  
"Yeah, he and Batman found a hidden lab in Gotham that it seems our friends from the past few days were occupying until a few days ago. They were conducting experiments in human cloning." Clark paused for the true effect of the information to set in.  
  
After almost a whole minute of silence, Chloe and Lois both responded. "What!"  
  
"That's insane, what exactly was in the lab?" Chloe fell back into her desk chair.  
  
"Well, Superman said that there were tanks with human bodies in them, all of the bodies were brain-dead, being kept alive by the machines they were attached to. From what they could discern, something was wrong with the development process." Clark pulled up some of the information that Bruce had sent to him.  
  
"This is getting crazier by the minute." Lois hunched over to see the schematics that appeared on Clarks computer screen. They depicted the tanks that held the cloned bodies. "Any ideas on who is behind it?"  
  
"Well, Superman said that he and Batman only knew of three organizations or companies with sufficient resources to implement a project of this magnitude: Wayne Enterprises, STAR Labs, LuthorCorp, and the U.S. Government." The next set of files from Batman dealt with the various companies' experiences with cloning.  
  
"I think that one of us should pay each of those companies a visit, see if we can find anything out." Chloe reached into her desk drawer a breath mint. "I'll take STAR Labs; Clark, why don't you go bug your buddy Lex; and, Lois, you can pay a visit to Mr. Wayne."  
  
"That sounds like a good plan." Lois reached over and grabbed a donut out of the box on her desk before standing to leave. "Why don't we all meet back here tonight, around ten, and pool our information."  
  
"If any of you find anything, let the rest of us know." Chloe put on her jacket, after which she leaved over and gave Clark a kiss. "It will be safer that way."  
  
Five minutes later, each of them was on their way to their respective subjects. Clark took his time going to see Lex, since he had already talked to him once this morning. On his way to the LuthorCorp tower, he decided to stop by and pay Lana a visit.  
  
"Clark!" Lana opened the door, still in her pajamas and robe. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I was on my way over to see Lex, and I thought I'd pop in here and see how you were doing." He stepped inside the door and gave her a hug.  
  
"I'm fine. Lex said that Superman stopped by this morning for a chat." They walked into the living room and Lana sat down on the couch while Clark took a seat in Lex's armchair. "I guess I just missed him when I got up."  
  
Clark noted the smile across her face and returned it. "Yeah, Superman told me about that when he stopped by the planet office earlier."  
  
"Do you have time for some breakfast?" Lana got up again and headed for the dining room.  
  
"Not really. I just wanted to stop by and make sure that you were doing ok, and that you were safe." He stood up and walked toward the door. "Everything seems ok, so I believe that I will be off to the Tower."  
  
"Goodbye, Clark. Good luck with Lex." She turned to face him, the front of her robe falling open slightly, revealing her sheer nightgown.  
  
Clark wasn't sure if Lana had allowed her robe to fall open on purpose, but she hadn't made any effort to pull it closed. "Thanks. I'll probably need it. He's a hard on e to crack."  
  
He waved goodbye to her as he turned and walked out the door. On his way out of the building, he kept replaying the sight of Lana's robe falling open. If he hadn't known better, he'd have said that she'd done it on purpose, but pushed it off as just a coincidence. By the time that he walked out the revolving doors and back onto the busy sidewalks of Metropolis, thoughts of Lana were out of his head, and he was refocused on the matter at hand, Lex.  
  
"I just need to speak to Dr. Jackson for a couple of minutes." Chloe was pleading with the desk receptionist at STAR Labs. She'd been there for a little over thirty minutes, having not gotten any farther than the main lobby. Just as she was about to give up, she spotted her subject walking through the doors into the lobby, seemingly on his way out of the building. Chloe turned and followed.  
  
"Dr. Jackson." She walked up right next to him as they exited the building.  
  
"Miss Sullivan. Its been a while, what, six years? You were in Smallville then, right?" Dr. Jackson remained facing forward, heading towards the parking garage two buildings away.  
  
"You remember me. I'm impressed." Chloe was keeping up with him, stride for stride.  
  
"It's somewhat difficult to forget a young woman with theories like yours."  
  
"I'll give you that. But that isn't why I am here." She stepped in front of him as they entered the garage. "I'm a reporter for the Daily Planet now, and I'm working on a story. I thought you might be able to help me."  
  
"Well, Miss Sullivan, I have to warn you that I can't talk about much of my work." He seemed to acquiesce to the new impediment in his path.  
  
"That's fine. Just let me do the talking, and you jump in if you can." Chloe proceeded to recount the information that Clark had conveyed to her earlier that morning about the clones in Gotham.  
  
When she finished, he just stood there. After a few moments of only the sound of passing cars, he finally said something. "I can assure you, Miss Sullivan, that it is no one associated with this company. I can't even make any suggestions of possibles, other than those you've obviously already considered, LuthorCorp, Wayne Enterprises, and the government."  
  
"Yes, my associates are meeting with Lex and Bruce right now." Chloe reached into her purse for her cell-phone. "Thank you, Dr. Jackson."  
  
As he walked away, toward his car, Chloe quickly punched up Pete's number on her speed dial. It rang once before someone answered. "Hello, this is Pete…"  
  
"Pete, it's Chloe. I need to know if you still have that friend working in the for the President."  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"I need to meet with someone to discuss a story I'm working on. I can't tell you about it just yet, but can you please set up a meeting with him for me?" She had made her way over to her jeep, illegally parked in a fire zone. She pulled out of garage just as the security officer made his rounds on the lower level.  
  
"Sure thing," The phone went dead as soon as the words left his mouth, and Chloe was back on the streets of Metropolis, heading back to the office.  
  
It had been a long time since Lois had made the drive to Gotham. It felt good to get out of the city and away from all the craziness that had made its way into her life lately. As she drove down the road, she found herself thinking about Superman, and the feeling of having his arms wrapped around her. She was brought out of her daydream by the sound of her cell phone ringing.  
  
"Lois Lane." She put it on speaker so she could concentrate on the road.  
  
"Lois, it's Lex. I was calling to ask you to dinner tonight." Lois could hear music playing in the background, Chopan, she believed.  
  
"That sound like fun, where were you thinking of going?" She tried to shake the remnants of Superman out of her head.  
  
"How does Coast City sound?"  
  
Had Lois been holding the phone, she would have dropped it, as it were, she nearly swerved off the road. "Coast City!"  
  
"Is that a yes?" He barely managed to suppress a chuckle at Lois's exasperation.  
  
"Yes…yes it's a yes!" She managed to regain control of her vehicle and herself. That was when she remembered where she was. "Oh, but, Lex, I'm on my way to Gotham. I probably won't be back in Metropolis until late."  
  
"What a fitting coincidence, that's where I am right now. I have a meeting with Bruce at noon. Why are you coming to Gotham?"  
  
"I need to talk to Bruce about a story."  
  
"I'll let him know you're on your way, have him keep a space open for you. I'll have someone there to pick you up after you meet with him, and we'll fly out to Coast City. There's this great Italian place there that you're just going to love."  
  
"I'll see you then, Lex." Lois had a smile plastered across her face.  
  
"Later, Miss Lane."  
  
Now, the only thing on Lois's mind was Lex and dinner in Coast City. She pushed on the gas and zoomed toward Gotham, leaving thoughts of Superman in her wake. 


	11. Getting Closer...

Author's Note: Well, here's Chapter 11. I hope that all of you enjoy it, and I hope to have 12 up in the next couple of days. Check out the end for more info and a sneak-peek at the next chapter.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Why, Miss Lane. It's wonderful to see you again." Dick Grayson greeted Lois as she stepped off the elevator just outside Bruce's office. "Especially under less stressful circumstances. Mr. Luthor said you would be here soon, and he told me to give him a call when you arrived. Bruce is waiting in his office for you, and I will go give Lex a call."  
  
"Thank you very much. It's good to see you again too." Lois shook the young man's hand before heading for Bruce's office. When she opened the door, she found Bruce seated behind his desk, facing the away from her, looking out the window.  
  
"What can I help you with, Miss Lane?" He still hadn't turned around as Lois approached his desk. "Can I have Gladys bring you anything, orange juice, bottled water, coffee?"  
  
"No thank you, Mr. Wayne." She sat down in one of the chairs opposite of Bruce as he finally turned around.  
  
"Please, call me Bruce." He offered her his hand, but he didn't smile.  
  
"Only if you call me Lois." She smiled and shook his hand.  
  
"I believe that I can do that, Lois." He shifted some of the papers on his otherwise immaculate desk. "Once again, what bring you all the way to Gotham?"  
  
"Well, I came to ask you how far your company has come in its animal cloning projects." She presented the topic as if it was fruit for everyday conversation.  
  
"Well, Lois, I'm glad to see that it's nothing to controversial." He leaned back in his chair, crossing his hands in his lap. "As I'm sure you're well aware, Wayne Enterprises discontinued its animal cloning projects late last year following protests by various groups and several rather disheartening experiences."  
  
"That's very well, Bruce, but what I want to know is if those projects ever dealt with either direct human cloning, or with technology that could be specifically applicable to human cloning." Lois was now in full reporter mode.  
  
"Well, Lois, the basic technology could all be used for human cloning, but what I assume you are asking is whether there was any work in primate cloning specifically." He leaned across the desk to look directly at her. "To answer that, no we did not. If you don't mind me asking, why are you interested in cloning?"  
  
"Well, Bruce there seems to be some connection between the men who held Dick, Lex, Lana and I hostage last week and a secret project attempting to clone human beings." Lois was reluctant to let Bruce in on what was going on.  
  
"I assume you mean the project that Superman and Batman uncovered late yesterday?" Bruce knew that this comment would surprise Lois.  
  
"How did you…Batman." Lois was slightly exasperated for a couple of seconds.  
  
"Yes, he came to see me earlier today. I'm afraid that I have to tell you the same thing I told him. We have nothing to do with this project and I've already started an internal investigation into all my employees who worked on the cloning projects. If one of them is contributing to this horrible crime, then we will discover them." Bruce leaned back in his chair again. "If that's all, I believe that you have a date to get too."  
  
Lois, quite uncharacteristically, blushed before responding. "Yes, that's all that I needed. It was good talking with you, and I'll probably see you the next time you're in Gotham."  
  
"Oh, I have a feeling we'll see each other before then." He stood up to shake her hand. "Dick will walk you out to the limo Lex has waiting for you downstairs."  
  
Lois was confused to say the least, but she shook Bruce's hand anyway. "Thank you."  
  
As Lois exited the office, she found Dick waiting for her at the elevator. "Have you ever been to Coast City?"  
  
"No, this is my first trip." Lois was beginning to wonder if Lex had announced their date to the world.  
  
"it's a great town, you'll love it." Dick handed her coat to her as the elevator door opened on the ground floor. Then the two made their way out the door to the waiting limousine.  
  
"Thank you. I'll see you later." She climbed into the car as Dick shut the door and walked back into the building.  
  
"Mr. Luthor will be meeting you at the airport, Miss Lane. He left a dress for you. I can raise the divider if you would like to change." As the driver was saying this, Lois noticed the beautiful black gown hanging across from her.  
  
"That would be fine."  
  
  
  
Clark was about to walk out the door to Lana and Lex's penthouse when the phone rang. "Hello."  
  
"Yeah, Lana, I'm calling to let you know that I probably won't be in until late. I didn't want you to worry since I originally told you we'd talk about things when I got home." Lex's voice greeted Lana on the other end.  
  
"Where are you now, Clark was on his way over to see you. He's still here if you'd like to talk to him." She motioned for Clark to come over to the phone. "What are you going to be doing, by the way?"  
  
"If you feel you must know, I'm taking Lois to Coast City dinner." She could tell that he was excited, something rare concerning Lex and the women he dated. "Let me talk to Clark."  
  
Lana handed him the phone. "Yeah, Lex, I gather that you're not going to be around this evening for me to talk to?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I have a hot date. Lois and I are going to Coast City for dinner." Clark detected a rare touch of happiness in his friends voice.  
  
"Things seem to be going well for the two of you." Clark smiled, happy that Lex had found someone who made him happy. "I hope that you have fun tonight. I'll stop by the office to see you in the morning. It won't take long."  
  
"Ok, I'll see you then. Lois just got here, so I need to go. Tell Lana that I love her and I'll see her in the morning." Lex's voice sped up and Clarks smile grew even larger.  
  
"Will do." He hung up the phone just as he heard Lois's voice on the other end.  
  
"Well, what are you doing for the next couple of hours? It looks like I've got some time to kill before I meet Chloe for dinner." Just as he said this, his cell phone rang. "Clark Kent."  
  
"Hey, sweetie, it's me. I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to make it to dinner tonight. I've got a meeting with one of Pete's law school buddies to talk about possible government involvement in our little mystery." It was Chloe.  
  
"That's fine, honey." Clark smiled from ear to ear as Lana cringed behind him. "I'll just see you when you get home tonight. I love you."  
  
"I love you too." After that, they both hung up and Clark turned to Lana.  
  
"Well, what do you say to dinner?"  
  
"Sounds like fun. Do you think we could visit your parents? I haven't talked to your mom in a long time." Lana crossed the room to get her coat.  
  
"I think we could manage that." Clark smiled and walked toward the door. "Just give me a couple seconds and I'll be at your window to pick you up."  
  
"Sounds good." Lana returned Clark's smile and walked over to the window to wait for him as he walked out the door. Just a few seconds later, Superman was floating outside the window. "Well, hello."  
  
"Ready to go?" He held his hand out to Lana and she took it.  
  
"By all means." The two were off and quickly on their way to Smallville for dinner.  
  
  
  
Chloe had just gotten off the phone with Clark when Pete called her to give her the details on her meeting with his friend. He told her that the guy happened to be in town and was willing to meet with her, but only if it could be anonymous. To guarantee that anonymity, he had arranged to meet her at an old abandoned warehouse near suicide slum. At first Chloe had wanted to forgo the meeting and just talk to the guy on the phone sometime, but she though better of it when Pete told her that there was no way he would do a phone interview. So, that was how Chloe ended up outside an old warehouse, alone, just before dusk.  
  
"Boy do I wish I'd asked Clark to come with me." Chloe had just put her hand on the door when she heard some police sirens off in the distance. Slowly, she opened the door and looked in to the dark room, the only light was what managed to peek in through the painted-over windows. "Is anyone here?"  
  
A voice answered her from the dark, "Yes, Miss Sullivan, I've been expecting you."  
  
"Why don't you come out here so I can look at you?" Chloe made her way into the dark room, her hand in her purse, poised on her stun-gun.  
  
"Anonymous, remember?" The voice was fluctuating between deep and high, so much so that Chloe couldn't tell which was real.  
  
"That's right. Well, I might as well cut to the chase. Do you know anything about a secret government project to clone a human being?" Chloe took a step back towards the door, just in time for it to slam shut.  
  
The source of the voice moved before any reply was issued. When he finally spoke again, Chloe could tell that he had moved to the other side of the room. "Actually, there have been whispers for a long time in different parts of the intelligence community, tale of a secret project involving a private donor and a black-ops division of the CIA. The Code- Name for the project is Cadmus. I can't tell you who the private donor is, but I can tell you that he lives here in Metropolis."  
  
This new bit of information had Chloe freshly intrigued. "But the first lab was discovered in Gotham. Why were they working out of there?"  
  
"I'm not sure, but it probably has something to do with the progress of the project. There's something they need to complete their work here in Metropolis. What it is, I can't tell you, nor where they plan to acquire it." There was movement across the room and Chloe thought she could make out a tall figure in the shadows.  
  
"Is there anything else?" Chloe moved towards the motion, hoping to catch a glimpse of her informant.  
  
As she was waiting for an answer, she heard a door slam shut. When she look over at the source of the sound, she realized that she was the only one still in the warehouse. Quickly, she made her way back to her jeep and drove back to the office. She had some calls to make.  
  
  
  
"Sir, I think that a reporter for the Daily Planet is getting a little too close to finding out the truth about our project." A young man in a lab-coat stood across from a man shrouded in shadow sitting behind a table. Suddenly, the man's fist came crashing down on the table, followed by two very powerful coughs.  
  
"What does she know?" The man's voice was very labored as he posed his question.  
  
"I'm not entirely sure, sir, but the transmitter we placed in her purse just picked up a conversation with an informant, someone who knew a little too much for comfort about our operation here. He told her that this is a government project, in tandem with a private investor and that the private investor is from Metropolis." The young man backed away from the table, sure that another outburst from the man behind the table was imminent. "What would you like us to do sir?"  
  
"For the time being, keep an eye on her. Keep me appraised of what she knows. She may be able to lead us to LuthorCorp's lab. But, if she gets too close to us before then, we'll simply have to eliminate the problem." The man removed his hands from the desk and folded them in the shadows. The young man nodded his head and left the room.  
  
***Well, that's it for now. I hope to have more up soon. I'm in the process of writing two pieces of completely original fiction for a class in the fall, and possibly one other. Hopefully I'll be able to devote more time to this from now until the end of the summer. With any luck, I'll finish it, just in time to start the sequal. :-)  
  
Next up, Chloe makes another interesting discovery, Lana and Clark reminisce about lost love, and Lex and Lois get Cozy in Coast City. Oh yeah, a few surprises too, maybe even a guest appearance or two. 


	12. Surprises...

"So, this is your first visit to Coast City?" Lex returned to his seat across from Lois after visiting the cockpit.  
  
"Yeah. I've been meaning to make a visit. After all, it's the home of the Green Lantern." Lois smiled and sipped at the drink Lex had handed shortly after they took off.  
  
"Oh yeah. You have a thing for Superheroes." Lex smiled at her. "I guess I need to get a costume."  
  
"Actually, I like you like this. Besides, you are whisking me away for dinner on the other side of the country." She put her hand on his knee. "Have I told you how much fun I'm having already?"  
  
"You hadn't mentioned that yet, but it's good to hear." He put his hand on hers. "I have fun with you, that's a bit new for me."  
  
"Well, Mr. Luthor, the feeling is mutual." She raised her glass. "Why don't we make a toast—to fun."  
  
"Sounds good to me." He raised his glass and they both finished their drinks.  
  
  
  
Martha Kent was just taking a roast out of the oven when she heard a knock at the back door. "I'll be there in just a second. We're about to have dinner."  
  
"Think you have room for a couple more?" Clark came in and took the roast from his mom.  
  
"Clark!" She threw her arms around him just after he sat the roast down on the counter top. "This is a surprise. You didn't call to say you and Chloe would be visiting tonight."  
  
"Actually, Mrs. Kent, its not Chloe." Lana came in the door, smiling.  
  
"Lana. It's good to see you." Martha let go of her son and went over to give Lana a hug. "How is everything?"  
  
"Oh, it's the same as when we talked just after I got back." Lana broke the embrace and took off her coat, hanging it on the coat rack next to the door.  
  
"You two keeping secrets from me now?" Clark smiled at the two women.  
  
"It's girl stuff, Clark." Martha winked at Lana. "I'm going to go get your father. He's out working in the barn. Could you cut the roast for me?"  
  
"Sure, Mom." Clark reached in the drawer next to the counter for the carving knife.  
  
"I'll get the drinks." Lana opened the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of Martha's famous iced tea.  
  
"Thank you, dear." Martha then walked out the door, leaving Lana and Clark alone in the kitchen for the next couple of moments.  
  
"This brings back memories, doesn't it?" Lana was pouring tea into everyone's glasses while Clark carved the roast and put it onto a serving plate.  
  
"Yes, it does." Clark paused for a second. "This was our Wednesday nights during senior year. You, me, Mom, and Dad al having dinner together. You and I getting everything ready while mom went to get dad from the barn."  
  
"They were good times." Lana poured the last glass and made her way over to the stove for the mashed potatoes. "Do you ever miss us?"  
  
This time, Clark put down the knife. He wasn't ready for what he knew Lana was trying to say. "Lana, I…Of course I miss us. I'm always going to love you, but things are different now, for both of us."  
  
"I know they are, you and Chloe are together, and the whole Superman thing." Lana had set the potatoes on the table and was now just standing there.  
  
"Listen, why don't we enjoy dinner and spending time with my parents, and we'll talk about this afterwards. We can go up to the loft. Ok?" Clark quickly finished carving the meat and took the serving plate over to the table.  
  
Lana nodded just as Jonathan and Martha came in the door. The four of them sat down and had a wonderful dinner, catching up on everything that had been happening. Lana seemed to have recovered from the conversation she and Clark had just had, and joked with Jonathan about this and that. Eventually, the topic of Lex came up.  
  
"So, Lana, how's your step-brother these days?" Martha caught herself, but it was too late, so she continued. "We haven't seen him much since you all moved back to Metropolis."  
  
"Lex is doing pretty well these days. In fact, he has a date tonight." Lana smiled, glad to have something positive to tell the Kents about her brother.  
  
"With whom?" Martha's interest was piqued.  
  
"Actually, Mom, he's taking Lois Lane to dinner in Coast City." Clark joined in the conversation. "That's part of the reason we're here. He was supposed to have dinner with Lana, but he cancelled on her. Then, Chloe called and told me she had to work, so we figured we'd come visit the two of you."  
  
"I'm glad you did, Son." Jonathan joined in. "Let's just hope that Lois knows what she's getting herself into."  
  
"Jonathan!" Martha shot her husband a glare. She knew he wasn't Lex's biggest fan, but thought for sure he'd keep his feeling to himself with Lana at the table.  
  
"No, it's fine, Mrs. Kent." Lana stood up from the table. "I know how Mr. Kent feels about Lex. He just doesn't know the side of him that I do. He's a good man, and he's been there for me for a long time. Now, if you will excuse me, I need some air."  
  
Lana walked out the door and made her way to the barn. Clark watched her for a second and then turned to look at his father. "Dad, why did you have to say that?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Son. I just feel sorry for anyone who cares about a Luthor. They're bound to be hurt," he replied to his son's question and then went back to his food.  
  
"I better go make sure she's ok." With that, Clark got up and made his way over to the barn where he found Lana sitting in his Fortress of Solitude, looking out at the night sky. "I'm sorry about that."  
  
"Oh, its ok, Clark. Your father doesn't like Lex, I've known that for a long time. It's just that he's really been there for me lately, and I just wish that your dad could see the side of Lex that I see." Lana turned to face Clark, a tear running down her cheek.  
  
"Something besides what my father said is bothering you. What is it?" Clark walked over to her and sat her down on the nearby couch.  
  
"I've been thinking about the last time we were here together, a lot, lately. The truth is, that I miss you, Clark. I miss us." Lana was crying steadily now.  
  
Clark was shocked, completely unsure of what do say. "Lana, I…"  
  
Before he could finish his thought, Lana grabbed him and kissed him. For a second, they were both lost in the moment. Deep down, a part of Clark missed her too, wanted to give in to this kiss and be with her again, but then the part of him that was in love with Chloe, the much bigger part, came crashing through and he pulled away.  
  
"Lana, we can't do this. I'm in love with Chloe. We can't go back to what we had." He watched as Lana sat, like she had just been hit by a truck. "What we had was beautiful, and I'll cherish those memories and feelings for the rest of my life. A part of me will always love you, and miss you. But, that part of our lives is over. You need to move on, find someone you can love and who will love you the way you deserve to be."  
  
"But I don't know how to forget about you." Lana looked as though she would begin sobbing at any moment. "I love you, Clark."  
  
"Lana, oh, Lana." He wrapped his arms around her. "I don't know how to help you. I wish that I did. All I do know, is that you will find someone who completes your life. And trust me, when you do, it's a beautiful, wonderful thing. That's how Chloe makes me feel. You'll find that one day. I promise."  
  
Lana didn't say anything. She just sat there, in Clark's arms, sobbing into this shoulder. She knew he was right, that there was no chance for them anymore, but she wasn't as sure about his promise that she would find someone else. Right now, all she was sure about was that she'd truly lost the only man she'd ever really loved.  
  
After about half an hour of crying, Lana asked Clark to please take her home. They went and said goodbye to Martha and then returned to Metropolis. Lana fell asleep in his arms before they reached the penthouse, so he entered the window from which they had left and placed her in her bed. Before he left, he kissed her on the forehead. A single tear fell down his cheek as he stepped from the window.  
  
  
  
Chloe really hadn't expected Clark to be there when she got back to her apartment; after all, she had told him she'd be late. So, she decided that she'd shower and then wait for him to get there. No sooner had she gotten undressed for the shower than she felt a breeze across her back.  
  
"I was wondering when you were going to get here." She turned to face the window.  
  
"I thought you said that you were going to be late getting in?" Clark stepped closer to her.  
  
"I was, but I…" Before she could finish, Clark took her into his arms and kissed her. Then, they backed up to the bed and laid down together. Clark quickly joined her in a naked state and they made love for an hour. Afterwards, they were laying there in each other's arms, ear to ear smiles on their faces.  
  
"What gotten into you tonight?" Chloe shifted to face her lover.  
  
"I had a very interesting evening." Clark caressed her face with his hand and kissed her before continuing. He wasn't sure if he should tell her everything that had happened, but then he decided that keeping secrets from the woman he loved was not something he wanted to do. "After you called and cancelled our dinner plans, Lana and I went to Smallville to visit my parents…"  
  
Ten minutes later, Clark had finished the story, not leaving a thing out. Chloe simply laid there, a look of shock mixed with jealousy on her face. She didn't get up though, and Clark took that as a good sign. Finally, her look softened.  
  
"That poor girl." Chloe's look had now changed to one of pity. "I can't believe she still isn't over you after all these years."  
  
"Can you blame her?" Clark grinned to let her know he was sarcastic.  
  
"Oh, somebody's head isn't too big, now is it?" Chloe slapped him, playfully across the chest.  
  
"Really, you're not upset?" Clark grabbed her and pulled her close.  
  
"I was at first, but then I remembered where I was, and what we just did. You love me, and you're here with me. Whatever there was between you and Lana in the past, it can't hold a candle to what we have now. I know that." She kissed him and wrapped her arms around him.  
  
"I love you so much, Chloe. I don't know what I would do without you, and I don't ever want to find out." Clark squeezed her to him, feeling her body press against his.  
  
"You'll never have to." The two of them snuggled into each other's arms and fell asleep.  
  
  
  
"Well, Mr. Luthor, how nice it is to see you. Your secretary called and said you would be joining us tonight. I took the liberty of preparing you a private table." The restaurant owner greeted Lex and Lois as they entered the restaurant. "And who is your lovely guest this evening."  
  
"Pierre, this is Miss Lois Lane." The middle-aged Italian man took Lois's hand and kissed it as Lex made the introductions.  
  
"This way, if you would." He led them to their table. It was in a far corner of the restaurant, a section reserved for VIPs. Lex slipped the man a tip as he left and he and Lois took their seats.  
  
"This place is gorgeous, Lex." Lois looked around her, noticing the giant glass chandeliers and the fountains. She looked to her left, out the windows. The restaurant sat overlooking the ocean, and the sun was just setting against the water.  
  
"Now it is." He smiled at her, unsure if she understood what he was implying. The blush that spread across her cheeks answered that question.  
  
"Good evening, my name is Kyle and I'll be your server this evening. Can I get you something to drink?" A young waiter appeared at the side of their table.  
  
"The finest bottle of wine you have, please. The owner will know what I like." Lex said without turning away from Lois. He reached across the table and took her hand in his.  
  
"Certainly, Sir." He turned and left.  
  
"What's the occasion?" Lois looked into Lex's eyes.  
  
"I'm out on my first real date with the most beautiful woman I have ever met. That's the occasion." They both began to lean across the table when a terrible scream pulled them both from the moment.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Lois and Lex both turned back toward the main dining room.  
  
What greeted them was the sight of a gunman holding a gun to a man's head. Lex quickly recognized the man as the Mayor of Coast City. He and Lois both stayed in their seats as the man crazily pointed the gun around.  
  
"Nobody moves and nobody gets hurt. Understand me?" the man's voice was slightly muffled by the mask he wore. "The Mayor and I are going to go for a little walk."  
  
Suddenly a green light pulled the man's gun from his hand and encased him in a green bubble. "I don't think so. It looks to me like you're going to be spending a little time in jail."  
  
The source of the light and voice soon appeared from the other side of the restaurant. It was Coast City's hero, Green Lantern. Lois quickly got up and made her way into the main dining room. Lex was close behind. Within minutes, the police had arrived and the gunman was on his way to jail. Lois managed to corner Green Lantern on his way out the door.  
  
"That was amazing. I've heard so much about you, but never had the opportunity to see you in action." Lois extended her hand.  
  
"Thank you, ma'am. I'm afraid I don't know your name." He reached out to shake her hand.  
  
"Why, Green Lantern, I'm amazed at you. You don't recognize Lois Lane, star reporter for the Daily Planet in Metropolis?" Lex had joined them.  
  
"Mr. Luthor." He extended his hand to Lex. They shook. "Why, I'm sorry Miss Lane. I didn't recognize you in that dress. The only times I've seen you, you were a tad worse for wear."  
  
"Ah. You must be talking about my many appearances on the evening news. Its kind of difficult to look presentable when your reporting on a major disaster or crime, especially one you were involved in." It surprised her that he had ever even seen her at all.  
  
"You're the one who named Superman, right?" Green Lantern was now the one asking the questions.  
  
"Yes, I was." Lois smiled.  
  
"If you get a chance, tell him I'd like to meet him sometime. Maybe our paths will cross in the future. Well, Miss Lane, it was nice to meet you, good to see you again, Mr. Luthor. You two enjoy the rest of your evening." With that, he was off, a green streak in the sky was all that was left.  
  
"We really have to try and have a normal evening together." Lex took her hand in his.  
  
"Normal is overrated." Lois leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "What do you say we get that dinner you promised me. 


	13. The Morning After...

The first light of day was creeping in the window of Lana's bedroom when she finally gave up on trying to fall asleep again. She'd woken up after what she supposed was two or three hours since Clark had left her there in her bed. After that, all she could think about was the conversation they'd had in the Fortress of Solitude. She'd begun crying again and thought she would eventually cry herself to sleep, but that didn't happen. She kept going over what Clark had said about her finding someone else and how hopeless that idea seemed at that moment. Finally, she started thinking about what she would tell Lex when she talked to him in the morning.  
  
After she took off her clothes from the night before and threw on a robe, Lana walked out into the hall and towards the dining room to see if Lex was at breakfast. She was slightly surprised to find him with a woman. Before she could say anything, Lex caught sight of her. "Good morning, fair sister. I believe you know Lois."  
  
Lana made her way around the table and sat down opposite the dark-haired reporter who had apparently spent the night with Lex. "We've met once or twice."  
  
"I'm sorry, again, that I cancelled on you last night." Lex watched as Lana took some fruit onto her plate. "You won't believe what happened to us, though."  
  
"I'm afraid to ask. Obviously nothing too bad; you're here after all." She smiled, for the first time since she had first arrived at the Kent's the night before. "Were you held at gunpoint?"  
  
"Well, we weren't, exactly, but the mayor of Coast City was." Lois was very excited to tell the story to someone else. "But, luckily, Green Lantern was able to rescue him."  
  
"Lois even managed to corner him before he had the chance to leave." Lex smiled and looked at Lois.  
  
"She must have a thing for superheroes." Lana winked at both of them, but then got serious again. "I was wondering if I could talk to you before you leave for work this morning, Lex."  
  
Lex noted the sudden change in Lana's mood and quickly looked at Lois. She responded by standing up from the table. "Well, I hate to eat and run, but I really need to get to work. I'll just go grab my clothes and then I'll leave."  
  
Lois leaned over and kissed Lex before leaving the room. A couple minutes later, she was on her way out the door and Lana and Lex were finally alone. "What's bothering you?"  
  
Lana stood up from the table and made her way over to the window from which she and Clark had left for Smallville the night before. "Clark and I went to have dinner with his parents last night."  
  
"That's great, Lana." Lex stood up and walked over to her. "I thought you wanted to spend more time with Clark. Chloe didn't go too, did she?" "No, it was just Clark and I, but." Tears started to well up in her eyes.  
  
"What is it? Did something happen?" Lex put his arm around her, but she pulled away.  
  
"I happened." Lana's voice was beginning to get exasperated. "I had to go and open my big mouth. I told Clark that I was still in love with him. Then I kissed him."  
  
"Oh." Lex just stood there, entirely unsure of what to say. Finally, he figured something out. "What happened after that?"  
  
"He basically told me that he still cared about me a lot, but that there was no chance for us now." She walked over and sat down on the couch. "Then he had to go and tell me that I would be ok, that I would find someone else."  
  
"Lana, Lana, trust me. It's not too late for the two of you. I promise you that." He joined her on the couch and put his arm around her again. This time she didn't pull away. "One way or another, you and Clark will be together again."  
  
  
  
"What can I get you two love-birds this morning?" The barista at the Starbucks in the lower level of the Daily Planet greeted Chloe and Clark as they made it to the front of the line to get Chloe her daily morning-dose of caffeine.  
  
They'd both woken up just before the sun came up, and decided they'd walk to work for a change. It had been a long time since they'd been able to spend an entire night in each other's arms, with Clark having to go save someone all the time. "Well, I'll take a double cappuccino and a blueberry scone. This farmboy will have a caramel steamer and a cinnamon scone."  
  
"No Problem."  
  
Chloe turned to look at Clark, only to see him staring out the front of the building towards the LuthorCorp Tower. "Nickel for your thoughts?"  
  
Clark slowly turned his gaze toward Chloe and took his hands in hers. "I'm worried about Lana. You should have seen the look in her face last night."  
  
"It's probably better that I didn't. I might have succumbed to my baser instincts and clawed her eyes out." Chloe wrapped her left arm around Clark as they moved down the counter of the Coffee shop so that other people could order. "Really, though, Clark. She'll be ok. Lana's tough. Besides, its like you said, she'll find someone else."  
  
"I know that, but I'm not sure that she does. It's what she'll do until she does that has me worried." Clark reached over and grabbed their drinks and scones as the Barista set them down in front of them.  
  
"Yeah, Pete, it's Lex. I need you to do me a favor today." He paused as Pete responded to his request with a question. "No, Pete, I'm coming into the office today. But I need you to take the day off and come spend it with an old friend."  
  
"Who?" Pete was hesitant to do any favor for his boss, especially one that required him leaving work.  
  
"Lana, Pete, Lana was wondering if I'd give you the day off so that you two could catch up. You haven't seen each other since the benefit, and to say the least, things that night were a bit hectic." Lex laid on the mock sincerity that he'd grown so accustomed to presenting to the people in his life.  
  
"Sure, Lex. Tell her that I'll be over in a few minutes." Pete and Lex both hung up the receivers and Lex turned to face Lana.  
  
"You didn't have to do that, Lex. I'll be ok here by myself." Lana had little energy left to battle with Lex about this.  
  
"I don't think so. You're a wreck. You need a friend with you today, and unfortunately, I have a very important meeting today that I can't miss. So, you spend the day with Pete, Talk, laugh, and if you can, try to get some dirt on Clark and Chloe." Lex turned to put on his suit- coat before heading for the door.  
  
Lana started to protest, but thought better of it. When he got something into his head, it was almost impossible to change his mind. Besides, a big part of her wanted his plan to succeed. At this point she would give almost anything to be with Clark again.  
  
  
  
"You summoned me, Ganthet?"  
  
"The little blue-gray creature draped in a red robe turned to face the who had just entered the great hall. "Yes, Hal, Green Lantern of Earth, I have something very important to share with you."  
  
The two made their way out onto the landscape of Oa, passing by the great battery that was the source of power for the rings of the Green Lantern Corp.  
  
"Hal, I summoned you here to tell you that we are about to choose another Lantern from your people. We have not yet determined who, but we wanted you to know that it will happen soon. Do not worry, though, my friend, this new Lantern will be given jurisdiction over another part of the Galaxy?" Ganthet stood and made his way toward the battery where he seated himself at its base.  
  
"If this new Lantern is to defend another part of the galaxy, then why choose him or her from among the Human race?" Hal was surprised at what Ganthet had just told him.  
  
"Because, Hal, your race possesses willpower like no other that we have ever brought into the corp., and they also have the truest sense of justice that we have ever found. The previous bearer of this ring has been gone from us for a long time, we were unsure if we would ever find a replacement for him, but then you came into our ranks and revealed the true potential of a human bearer of the ring. That is why we will chose a human for this burden." Ganthet once again stood and made his way back toward the great hall of the Guardians of the Galaxy.  
  
"I thank you for your kind words about both my race and myself. Ganthet, I would implore you to consider carefully the choice you are to make. Not all humans have this sense of justice of which you speak so highly." Hal lowered himself to kneel before the Guardian. "Also, have you learned of Earth's new hero, this Superman?"  
  
"We know of him, but all that we can reveal to you now is that he is not of your world originally, and that he is the last of his people." Ganthet placed his hand on Hal's head. "Now, return to your world and your duties. You will know when we have made our decision."  
  
After that, Hal rose and made his way outside the hall before using his ring to return to Earth. He was worried about the decision that faced the Guaridans, and what the consequences of their decision could be.  
  
  
  
Lois had gone straight from Lex's apartment to work, deciding against swinging by her apartment to change clothes. She was sitting at her desk when Clark and Chloe got off the elevator.  
  
"Well, heard you had a hot date last night, how'd it go?" Chloe was the first to join Lois at their circle of desks. "Spill, spill."  
  
"Not that it is any of your business, but I had a good time. Not all of it was because of Lex, though." A look of astonishment spread across Clark and Chloe's faces. "I got to meet Green Lantern."  
  
"Oh really?" Chloe was even more intrigued than before she had asked Lois about her date. "What was he like?"  
  
"Well, he's a very intimidating presence, all that green aura and the suit. His mask is kinda." Lois cut herself off.  
  
"Sounds like you have a thing for Superheroes. First Superman, and now GL." Chloe smiled and winked at Clark.  
  
Lois started to blush but regained her composure. "That's enough talk about my personal life. What all did you two find out yesterday?"  
  
"My day was pretty unproductive, but Chloe told me that she found out something pretty interesting about our cloner friends." Clark booted up his computer and yielded the floor to Chloe.  
  
"It seems that a rogue division of the government has teamed up with a private individual to implement the project, All that my source was able to tell me is that the private partner lives here in Metropolis." Chloe had pulled up her notes from the day before.  
  
"No idea who it is?" Lois was sitting back in her chair, engrossed in what Chloe was telling them.  
  
"None. The source wasn't even sure why they had begun their efforts in Gotham." Chloe closed the lid on her laptop and placed her hands on her desk.  
  
"You're sure that this source is reliable?" Clark finally joined in.  
  
"Pete turned me on to him, so I have no reason to doubt him or her." Both of her partners nodded.  
  
"Ok. We all have deadlines to meet today, and I'm sure that the last couple of days have put us behind a bit. So, why don't we finish our articles for tomorrow's edition and then we'll get together and brainstorm about what to do next." Clark was already opening up his word processor.  
  
"Sounds good to me. I could use a little time to process all this stuff." Lois turned back to her monitor and the piece she'd been working on before their arrival.  
  
"Same here." Chloe fired her laptop back up and went to work. 


End file.
